


BRWL: Ally Unknown

by GreenTheRyno



Category: RWBY, XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, FUBAR AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:06:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27452458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenTheRyno/pseuds/GreenTheRyno
Summary: They called it the most important war in Human history; one we were not allowed to lose. Our first and last line of defense stands alone against the onslaught, yet victory may be delivered by the very hands that sought to destroy us. Vigilo Confido, Curatrix Ab Alibi.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. We Lived In Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my new story! Fun fact, THE RWBY x XCOM series (I'm sure you all know the one) is part of what inspired me to start writing in the first place. So I decided to take a break from Ruby-B312 to write a story in that category. Well, I've been trying for a while (this may or may not be the third attempt at it), but still!
> 
> Anyways, if you're expecting this to vaguely follow the order of events in DrAmishMD's RWBY Within or Remnant Unknown, well… Just look at the first character's name…

Chapter One

We Lived In Peace

* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I squeezed the trigger, sending a Grey to the afterlife.

"Nice shot!" I heard my sister shout from the yard below. Moments later, she practically shoved her shotgun down another alien's gullet.

Having racked the bolt of my rifle, I sighted in the last Grey, red veins in its enlarged head pulsing. Its gaze locked to me as my finger started to squeeze the trigger, eyes boring a hole into my very soul. Strange… thoughts started… running through my...

_**They aren't here to hurt us, why are we hurting them?** _

_**We should stop hurting them.** _

_**We're monsters for hurting them.** _

_**We should be hurt.** _

Suddenly, my rifle's sights moved, centering on the blonde mane of the _monster_.

_**We should be killed.** _

My finger started to squeeze…

* * *

Four Days Earlier…

* * *

The car suddenly lurched, causing me to hit my head on the window I was leaning against. "Ow!" I shouted, my eyes snapping open as I rubbed my head.

"Great timing, sis!" Yang shouted.

I blinked my eyes, clearing the fog from my vision. "Ugh, are we there yet?"

"Just about." She said, grinning. The car sped out of the forest, the small town of Patch coming into view less than a mile ahead. "You ready for your first day as a sopphie?"

I lightly smacked her arm. "Yaaaang! That makes me sound like I'm a kid."

She tisked, pulling off the gravel road and into the nearly empty parking lot. "Well, you certainly aren't an adult."

"Yeah, neither are you…"

"Psh, seventeen's close enough, don't ya think?"

I gave her a flat look. "Even Uncle Qrow doesn't buy that."

She parked the car, getting out almost immediately. "Yeah, well, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

I rolled my eyes, getting out of her '89 Firebird and grabbing my backpack. I sighed, looking towards the school. "Do you… do you think they'll like me?"

"They'll love ya, sis." She said, smiling. "Besides, I can show ya the ropes! And we've even got a few college classes together!"

I frowned. "Yeah, but those aren't 'til the end of the day. I mean… what if I-"

"Ah ah ah!" She interrupted. "None of that. Public school isn't even _that_ bad! Plus, all ya gotta do is tell 'em about what homeschool's like and you'll be the bees' knees!"

I… didn't know how to feel about that. "Wait, do people actually _use_ that phrase?"

"Nope, just me!" She said, smiling.

I glanced back at her car, seeing another roll in. This one was pristine white instead of her blazing yellow, the contrast in style being even more obvious as the driver parked next to it. My jaw practically hit the floor when I realized it was a _brand-new BMW_. "Uhh sis?" I asked. "Who's that?"

She did a double take. "Huh. I… don't actually know." She said as we both came to a stop on the sidewalk. " _Maybe_ it's Cardin? He'd totally drive that, but I didn't think his family was _that_ rich…" The door opened and a petite girl with snow white hair stepped out from behind the tinted windshield. "Okay, _definitely_ not Cardin." She said. "I don't know her though; guess you're not the only new girl."

Said new girl huffed, trailing a finger along the hood of her car and rubbing the dust between her fingers. After a moment, her gaze snapped to us and I stood up ramrod straight. Her cold eyes appraised me for a moment before moving to my sister, hanging for just as long and then losing interest. She grabbed her own backpack and strutted towards the building, high heels clicking against the concrete as she passed us without even a wave.

"Uhh…" I let out, more than a little confused.

"Huh, well, look on the bright side, sis." She said, patting my back. "I think you'll have an easier time making friends than the _Ice Queen_ over there will."

"I hope so…" I said, staring towards the buildi- A hand on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.

I looked back at Yang, a wistful smile on her face. "Hey." She said. "She'd be proud."

My gaze trailed to the ground. " _Is_." I said.

She frowned slightly. "Ruby… it's been months. We'd've heard something by now."

I wiped away a tear. "I know. It's just… I can't shake this feeling." I said, turning away. "We should probably get going." I walked onwards; towards the place I'd be going for the next three years. The school itself wasn't _bad_ looking, but the tan brick walls and the rusty roof flashing told me it certainly wasn't _new_ either.

Yang caught up to me just as I exited the parking lot. "C'mon, let's drop off your ca- _cloak_ that you're wearing for some reason."

I huffed, crossing my arms in mock annoyance. "It's supposed to rain later, remember? And you can't tell me it doesn't work."

"Yeah, but it _does_ make ya look like a weirdo." She said, ruffling my hair.

"Yaaaang!" I let out, lightly shoving her into the flagpole as we passed it.

It rang like a bell as she impacted, but I didn't push her hard enough to hurt her. I chuckled as she gave me an exaggerated pout. "How could you do this to me? To your own flesh and blood?!" She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Because I totally hate you." I said, smirking as I pushed open the door, leading me to an… auditorium? 'I _think_ that's what it's called…' I thought.

A large stage dominated one side of the room; two basketball hoops were lashed up to the ceiling _just_ in-view from where we stood. Two large sunken platforms stood before it, each with three tiers. Said platforms were oddly empty right now; off to the side, I saw someone wheeling a table towards the many ramps that connected them to where I was standing.

I saw another flash of motion and, turning to it, I saw an anchorman appear on an old CRT TV mounted on the wall. 'Bismarck is Burning!' The text under him read. Everything around me ceased to exist as I approached the TV. The man's lips moved silently as he spoke, but the subtitles and videos in the background told me everything I needed to know.

Thousands dead or missing. The city in ruins. The Army in full retreat.

I sighed, unable to watch any more. As I turned around, I saw my sister staring at the TV. "Those… _bastards_." She said through clenched teeth.

I reached up and gently grasped her shoulder. "Yang…" I said, softly.

Her head snapped towards me, but the murder in her blue eyes faded as she met my gaze. She sighed. "…Sorry Rubes…" She said. "I just… I wish I could _do_ something."

"Me too…" I said, continuing on towards my locker. My sister and I climbed the stairs in silence, but I could practically _feel_ the rage boiling beneath her skin. I enveloped her in a hug as we reached the second floor. "…Have a good day?" I said, not really knowing what else to do.

I felt her untense slightly as she returned the gesture. "…You too…" She said, breaking away. "See ya at lunch."

"Yeah…" I said as she walked away. Behind me, I heard a few people coming up the stairs. Looking up to the third floor, I sighed, heading towards my locker. When I arrived, however, I realized I forgot my combination. I rolled my eyes; it wasn't any big deal. I had it written down in my-

I froze.

My pocket was empty. I instinctively glanced at my watch; only twenty-three minutes until class started! I didn't have enough time to-

I took a deep breath. 'What would Yang do in this situation?' I asked myself… only to shake my head when I pictured her breaking her hand trying to punch open the locker. I looked around, seeing what I had available. My eyes immediately drifted to my locker's number plate, which was loosely hanging on by a single flat-head screw.

I pulled at it slightly, testing its rigidity, and nodded in approval, setting down my backpack and getting my ruler. A few turns later, and my makeshift screwdriver had my new bypassing tool free. I stuck the thin piece of steel into the locker's latch and slowly inched the bolt open.

A few slip-ups later, and I was rewarded with a satisfying click. I grinned as the locker opened, replacing everything and grabbing everything I needed before zooming off.

I only had thirteen minutes to get to class!

* * *

I stepped out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria with my tray full of… food? 'I'm pretty sure my mashed potatoes just growled at me…'

Ignoring them, I looked around for somewhere to sit and, seeing none, I-

"HEY SIS!" A familiar voice shouted.

My head whipped around, seeing Yang frantically wave at me as all activity in the cafeteria _stopped_. I sheepishly waved back at her, moving towards her table. "Nice job embarrassing me in front of the whole school…" I grumbled, heading over to her table.

I sat down in one of the two empty seats, right next to Yang. "Umm… hi?" I said to the others. "I'm uhh… Ruby. Yang's sister."

Other than Yang, there were four other people at the table; an athletic, tall, and strangely familiar redhead, an equally athletic but short ginger girl, a blonde guy in a baggy bunny sweatshirt, and a stone-faced guy that the ginger was practically hanging onto.

The ginger girl gasped, shooting to her feet. "A new person?!" She shouted. "And you're Yang's mysterious little sister too?!" She started walking around the table, only for the stoic guy to grab the back of her shirt.

"Nora, I don't think she wants a hug at the moment." He said, pulling her back into her seat. "I'm Ren, by the way."

"Umm… nice to meet you." I said.

"And I'm Jaune Arc." The bunny guy said. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

I gave him a flat look. "Do they?"

"Well, this one does!" My sister said, putting her arm around him.

I glanced between them for a moment before my eyes widened. "Oh, you're _Jaune_ Jaune, not just… Jaune."

His head tilted slightly. "I'm not _really_ sure what you mean by that, but yeah, I'm the only Jaune at the school."

My fingers fiddled. "I mean, umm… Yang talks about you. Like… a lot."

"And she talks about you too." He said, resting a hand on her thigh.

The redhead cleared her throat. "Remember you two; no intimacy at the table."

They shot apart. "Ah shi- _crap_. Sorry, P-Money." Yang said.

"Uhh… what?" I let out. "I get the feeling I'm missing something here…"

She smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "It's a… bit of a long story."

"Eh, not really." Jaune said, shrugging before turning to me. "They both liked me in umm… _that_ way, buuuut I didn't notice for a while. Eventually, Yang got tired of waiting and made it obvious."

"You mean she walked up to you, right in the middle of the hallway, and made out with you." The redhead said.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Yang shouted. "Seriously, even _I_ didn't know you were after Vomit Boy."

"I am aware." She said, gaze trailing downward for a moment. "But I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm… Pyrrha Nikos." She said, her voice full of trepidation.

I blinked. "Wait, _Pyrrha_ Pyrrha?"

"If you're referring to Pyrrha the marathon runner, then… yes. That is I."

I gasped. "I heard you can run a six-minute mile and not even feel _tired_!"

She smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Well… six would be pushing it. I can do a seven-minute mile if I'm not running long distance, but I will certainly feel it afterwards."

"Still, that's awesome!" I shouted. She looked away, fidgeting with her fingers. "I mean uhh… that's cool." I said, quickly looking down at my plate and shoveling a few bites of growling potatoes into my mouth.

"Welp, now that introductions are over, how's your first day been?" Yang asked.

"Weeem, ashi frooo-" I paused, realizing I was doing _it_ again and swallowed. "Ehehe… sorry… I mean, aside from forgetting my locker combination at the beginning, it's been alright."

She winced. "Ouch. Did Miss Schwartz at least go easy on ya?"

My head tilted to the side. "Uhh… whaddaya mean?"

"Miss Schwartz." She repeated. "She goes _ballistic_ on people who ask them for their combinations. You said you forgot yours, so…?"

I blinked. "Wait, you can just go _ask_ for your combination?"

"Uhh… yeah." Jaune said. "Wait, if you didn't do that, then what _did_ you do?"

My cheeks flushed. "I… used the number plate to bypass the lock?"

They all just _stared_ at me. I glanced around for a moment before retreating into my hood. Yang burst out laughing, patting me on the back. "Only you, Rubes." She said. "Never change."

"Yaaaaaang!" I whined, pulling away slightly. "The only other thing I could think of was punching it open like you'd do, buuuuut I kinda didn't wanna break my hand…"

She gave me a blank look. "Why the he- _heck_ would you think I'd punch it open?"

"Weeeeell…" Pyrrha started. "You _are_ the three-time middleweight state boxing champion…"

" _Light_ middleweight, thank you very much." She said, glaring. After a few moments a smirk pulled at her lips and she shook her head. "Alright, I _guess_ I can see it…" She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Either way, you dropped this when we were leaving the house. I guess I just forgot to give it to you with... _everything_ that happened this morning." The table's mood grew a shade darker after she finished, most retreating to their meals.

After a few minutes, Ren spoke up. "So Ruby, is my understanding correct that you were homeschooled up to this point?" I nodded. "And yet, your sister has been here ever since Nora and I arrived. I don't quite understand the logic behind that."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Weeeeell… our parents _kinda_ didn't know the other existed for a while, so our dad enrolled Yang in school and my mom thought it'd be best to homeschool me."

Yang hummed in agreement. "And when they finally found out, they decided to just keep things the way they were."

He nodded. "I suppose that makes sense, but if you don't mind me asking, what changed?"

I glanced at Yang, who gave me a soft smile. "Summer…" She started. "Ruby's mom… _disappeared_ , a few months back."

Nora gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"My condolences." Ren said.

Pyrrha withdrew for a moment, her eyes gaining a longing look for a moment. "Mine as well…"

"She isn't dead, she's just… missing." I said.

"Whatever ya say, Rubes." Yang said before going quiet for a moment. Suddenly, her cheerful expression reasserted itself. "But enough of this sappy stuff, you guys up for a fire this weekend?" She asked, her smile wider than I'd ever seen it… it looked weird on her.

They all stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded by the sudden change of- "Yooooooooou bet'cha I am!" Nora shouted.

The others blinked. "Well, you know my answer." Jaune said.

"And where Nora goes, I go."

Pyrrha frowned. "Unfortunately, my weekend is already spoken for."

"Awww… whyyyyyy'd ya ditch us, Pyr Pyr?" Nora asked, not even the slightest bit serious.

"Ah, it's a… _private_ matter, I'm afraid."

Yang dove into her hands, elbows on the table as she grinned. "Oooooooh?" She let out. "Ya gonna go see your Illuminati friends?"

She pinched her nose. "Yang, for the thousandth time, I do not have ties to the illuminati."

"But you _are_ disappearing all the time, though."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that automatically makes me a member of a secret paramilitary organization with ambitions of world domination?"

My sister's eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at Pyrrha's face. "You win _this_ round, but I'll prove you wrong one day!" She held the pose for _almost_ thirty seconds before bursting out laughing, the rest of the table joining her.

"Let me guess, I will rue the day I decided to deceive you?" Pyrrha said between laughs.

"Oh yeah, you'll do _all_ of the ruing!" She said, breaking down laughing _even harder_ afterwards.

I smiled slightly; maybe public school wasn't so bad after all…

Huh. Pyrrha's smile looked weird too…

* * *

I opened the door to my second-to-last class, chemistry. Despite it being a college-level class, I was fairly excited for it. After all, it was one of the two classes I had with my sister. 'I just hope she's less embarrassing than at lunch…'

I scanned the room as I entered, but found no trace of my sister's blonde mane. Seeing I was one of the first people here, I took a seat in the front row and patiently waited for class to start.

Almost no one I knew walked through the door; all of them older than me. Other than Yang, the only one I even _recognized_ was the white-haired girl from this morning. She sat down next to me without a word, leaving only a single seat for Yang. I _really_ hoped no one would take it before-

"Heya, Rubes!"

…she arrived.

The girl next to me sighed as Yang plopped down in the empty chair. " _Must_ you be so obnoxious?"

She reclined back, lacing her fingers behind her head and kicking her feet up on the desk. "Eh, the teacher isn't here yet, so why not? Plus, she's my sister, so…"

The girl's chilly gaze flicked between us. "Half-sisters, I presume?"

I blinked. "Huh. Yeah, actually. Not very many people guess it on the first try."

"Yeah, usually it's just 'oh, I can't believe you two are even related!' or something like that." Yang said.

She shrugged. "Well, I have a… _knack_ for reading people."

"Well, you're new here, right?" Yang asked, receiving a nod. "Me, Rubes, and a couple of friends are gonna have a bonfire at our house on Friday night after school, ya want in?"

"While I appreciate the offer, I am afraid I must decline."

"Aww, c'mon! Don't ya wanna break the ice at a new school?"

"I insist." She said, gaze trailing to the floor for a moment. "I… don't like crowds; too many people to read."

"Hey, no problem, Ruby's like that too!" She said, making me glare at her.

When I turned back, the girl's _icy_ stare had returned. " _No_." She said, her voice low and commanding.

Yang backed off, hands up in a surrendering motion. "Okay, okay!" She said. "Jeez, just tryin' to help ya out a bit, y'know?"

She crossed her arms. "Well I can help myself, thank you very much."

I gave my sister a look, which she returned. Before we could respond, the green-haired teacher burst into the room, apologized for being late, and immediately started teaching. I quickly got out my notebook and started jotting down notes. Midway through the first five minutes, my hand started to cramp up.

I sighed internally; at least the day was almost over…

* * *

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\

* * *

I gently closed the door behind me, stepping into my house as _softly_ as I could. Even so, my head throbbed with every step I took. I barely noticed Klein greet me as I staggered towards my room, only waving as I passed him.

When I entered, I immediately went for the drawer on my end table; my hand reaching for the small, unmarked bottle that I'd been thinking about for the last several hours. The pill hit my palm and I raised them to my mouth befo-

Suddenly, I remembered my decision this morning; the resolution I'd made to ween myself off this… _medicine_. Shakily, I put the pill back in its bottle, sealed it, and took some Tylenol instead. I set down my backpack, kicked off my shoes, removed my colored contact lenses, and climbed into bed; my alarm would wake me in half-an-hour.

Just as my eyes closed, I frowned. 'I hope my baby sister Winter never has to deal with this…'

* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

* * *

The door clicked shut behind me and I let out a sigh of relief. The day was over; the _week_ was over. As I slung off my backpack, though, my shoulders tensed up and I remembered the bonfire later toni-

"Saaaal-u-tations!"

I jumped, letting out a quick "Eep!" When my feet hit the ground, I frowned at the ceiling-mounted speaker above me. "Pennyyyyy… don't scare me like that!"

"I am sorry, Sister!Ruby, I did not intend to startle you!" Suddenly, I heard the oven pop open, a heavenly scent reaching my nostrils only a moment later.

"You baked cookies?!" I shouted, anger forgotten as I zoomed to the kitchen.

As I entered, I saw the three-and-a-half-foot-tall centaurbot reaching into the oven and grab the tray inside with its suction cupped arms. "Indeed I did! I wished to celebrate the conclusion of your first week of school!" She said as the bot raised the tray over its body – through where the torso would be on an actual centaur – and set it on back. "Where is Sister!Yang? My exterior sensors detect no trace of her nor her vehicle." I tried to grab a cookie off the bot's back, but I instantly pulled back with a hiss of pain. "Be careful! They are still quite hot!"

"Yeah, I figured that out…" I muttered. "Yang went off to get a few things before she picked up Ren and Nora." I reached for the fridge handle, but found a sticky note on the door. Grabbing the jug of milk, I read it.

_Hey girls, a couple officers are still in Bismarck helping with the cleanup. Me and Qrow are covering their shifts tonight, be back around midnight. I told Penny to order you guys some Shopkeep's pizza for tonight, don't make us come out there for a noise complaint!_

_Love Taiyang_

I frowned, pouring myself a glass. I was kinda hoping to get away from the party with the excuse of helping dad with supper, but I guess that plan just went out the window…

I glanced at the clock, putting the note back so Yang could find it later. "So, we've got an hour before it starts… can you bring the cookies to my room?"

"Of course!"

I zoomed off towards where my backpack lay, retrieving my books and my notebook before going to my room. As I entered, I saw the centaurbot lay down in its charging station, the cookies still on its back. I snagged one, glad they were finally cooled off enough to touch, and slid into my desk chair.

I pushed aside the sketches I'd made for various projects and replaced them with my notebook. "Alright…" I said, eating the cookie whole. "Any progress on finding mom?"

…

"Penny?"

"…Not yet, unfortunately." My head hung low for a moment, only raising when the centaurbot placed the tray of cookies on my desk before trotting back to charge. "We will find her. I am sure of it."

I shoved another cookie into my mouth. "…I know…" I said, cracking open my textbook. I stared at the pages I'd been assigned to read, only processing a few words before my mind drifted off. Minutes later, I'd realize what happened and start reading again… only for the process to repeat. After half-an-hour, I let out a tired sigh. "Maybe if I just… work on something else for a bit…" I thought aloud. Suddenly, my head snapped up. "Hey, Penny, did those parts finish printing yet?"

"Which ones are you referring to?"

"The ones for your new body!" I shouted. "Y'know, after your old one got stolen when mom disappeared?"

"I still wouldn't exactly call it a body, it is more of a computer in a backpack." She said. "But regardless, those parts are, indeed, complete!"

"Awesome!" I said, grabbing another cookie and quickly rushing to the 3D printer, retrieving the parts I needed. I shuffled through the maze of half-completed projects on the workbench side of my room, taking almost a full thirty seconds to cover the dozen or so feet that was strewn with… _things_.

I made my way over to the workbench and strapped on my anti-static band before looking over the current project. Outwardly, it was just an oversized backpack with some LEDs. Inside, though? It was a sea of hard drives, processors, RAM sticks… everything needed to make a nice little home-on-the-go for a world-class AI.

"Hey, Penny? Can you throw on some Helljumper Jazz?"

"Certainly!"

I got to work, humming along with the soundtrack as it started. This will only take a second…

* * *

I stuck my tongue out in concentration, even the _slightest_ twitch of my hands forcing the part out of alignment. I gently set the microchip in place, tacking it down with my soldering iron a moment late-

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, pounding on my door. I jumped, _nearly_ messing up my work. "Ruby, the party started like… three hours ago!"

I groaned. "Yang, you can't just do that!" I shouted. "I'm in the middle of finishing Penny's body!"

She opened the door, stepping inside my room. "You can do that later, the gang really wants to hang out with you."

"Can't it wait 'til later? I'm almost done with this."

She stared at me for a moment. "…How long do you think it'll take?"

"Uhh… I dunno, fifteen minutes?"

She sighed. "Fine. But if you're not out there in _fifteen_ minutes, I'm gonna drag you out of here." She exited my room once more, but before the door latched shut, she poked her head back inside. "It's getting dark out and everyone _really_ wants to start shooting, y'know."

I made a shooing motion. "Fine, fine, I'll hurry up."

The door latched shut and I tuned out all distractions. I loved building things like this, but I _also_ loved it when Yang and I had our little shooting competitions. Mostly 'cause it's the _one_ thing I'm better than Yang at... that she actually cares about…

Finally, the last component clicked into place. I sealed up the backpack, opened the cooling ports, hooked it up to a monitor and keyboard, and switched it on. After several agonizing moments, I was greeted with the BIOS screen.

I cheered, quickly grabbing an ethernet cable and hooking it into the house. "Alright Penny, do your thing!"

"That I shall, Sister!Ruby!" She shouted. "Also, Sister!Yang is approaching your room, you should consider-"

"Ruby!" She shouted, barging through the door. "I _said_ I'd drag you out there if you-"

"Yang, I just finished!" I shouted, flinching away. "I'll be right there."

She stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms. "You better."

I jumped up and grabbed a key off one of my top shelves, rushing past her to the laundry room down the hall. "You got yours?" I asked, opening the gun safe.

"Not yet." She said from behind me.

I handed her the '870 she loved so much before grabbing my M1903 Springfield… my Glistening Rose. I ran a finger over the rose emblem burned into her stock, letting a small smile grace my fa-

"Ruby, you can finger your rifle later, let's get _going_ already."

Every single thought in my head ground to a complete and utter halt, my face heating up instantly. "Y- Yang!" I said. "Y- You can't just… _say_ that!"

She smirked. "I know something that'll take your mind off that." She said, leaning in. When her face was only an inch away from mine, she gave her shotgun a loud pump. "Leeeeeeet's use these things!" She reached behind me and took one handle of the ammo crate just beside the safe.

I shook my head, knowing she hadn't _actually_ chambered a round, as I shut the safe and grabbed the other end. Just then, the centaurbot appeared at the doorway. With a grunt of effort, we hoisted the crate onto its back. Seemingly not noticing any difference in weight, it happily trotted towards the back door.

Soon enough, we exited the house ourselves, holding the door for the Penny-controlled robot. A gust of cool air washed over me as we exited, making me shiver slightly and pull at my cloak.

"Whaaaaaat you guys have a _robot_ now?!" Nora shouted, zooming over to us.

"Nora, they had it the last time we were here."

She craned her head towards her boyfriend. "Ooooooh yeeeeeeaaaah…" She let out, giving the bot a pat on its 'head'. "But it's still _awesome_!"

A small smile pulled at his lips. "I won't disagree with you there."

Yang cleared her throat. "So… we gonna shoot these things off, or what?"

Jaune chuckled nervously. "You didn't tell us we were gonna shoot guns… I'd've brought mine too."

"Well, no probs! Y'know you can use mine anytime, right? Plus, you guys know we've got a _lot_ more than just these two."

"Heeeeeey, does that apply to us too?" Nora asked.

"You betcha!" She said. "So, who wants to go first? I bet twenty bucks that Ruby wins."

"Wha- Yang!" I let out.

Ren hummed. "You seem quite confident. Given you know our shooting ability as well as your sister's, I do not take the bet."

"Yeah, same." Jaune said.

"You're on!" Nora shouted.

I stood there awkwardly as Ren tried to talk Nora out of her bet. Eventually, I just started looking around, admiring our yard… if you could call it _just_ a yard.

The actual area was bigger than most city blocks, though three-quarters of that was taken up by woodland. To the southwest, some of the last rays of daylight shone through the trees' needles. The grey form of the old barn was only slightly visible through them as well, the sun glinting off the single window that still had _some_ glass in it.

I could just _barely_ hear the rumble of a combine in the distance; Nora and Ren's arguing doing its best to hide the machine's noise. A few dozen meters off our redwood deck stood a metal target, blue masking tape freshly applied.

I glanced back at the others, seeing the ghost of a smile on Ren's face as he tried to calm Nora down. I shrugged, reaching into the ammo crate and-

"Alert!" Penny suddenly said over the exterior speakers. "Sensors have detected a flying object of unknown make approximately a kilometer from this position."

"Your house has sensors?" Jaune asked.

Yang frowned. "Just a basic camera that we stuck in a tree…" She muttered. "Hey, Penny, did you search the internet too?"

"Indeed I have, Sister!Yang, all publicly-available records returned zero hits for the saucer-like object currently heading towards this location."

We all stiffened. "Did you say… saucer-like?" I asked.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us. Looking towards the sun, I only saw blue and green lights poke through the trees. We all stood _completely_ still, scared out of our minds while it passed.

"Alert! Saucer is landing approximately two-point-seven kilometers south-southwest. Please seek shelter!"

A _fire_ burned in Yang's eyes. "Those _bastards_ burned down Bismarck and we couldn't do a goddamned thing!" She shouted, grabbing handfuls of shotgun shells from the ammo crate. "I'm _not_ just gonna sit here while they try and burn my _home_ too!" She leaped off the deck, running towards the shed.

"Yang, wait! You can't take them on by yourself!" I shouted. She didn't even glance backwards. An ATV's engine roared to life moments before it peeled out of the shed, my sister's golden mane flapping in the wind. I groaned, throwing Ren the gun safe key and grabbing ammo for myself. "Take what you need, I'm going after her!"

I completely ignored their cries as I rushed to the other ATV.


	2. Hit The Fan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first off, I wanna apologize for taking so goddamn long in writing this chapter. There were a few points that were… hard to write, and I'm sure they'll be a bit hard to read as well (not in the "I don't have a single clue what this guy's saying" way, more in the… other way).
> 
> Fair warning: Both parts of this chapter will probably make you angry. Just remember, this is XCOM. And things… happen in XCOM games.
> 
> With that in mind, try to enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Two  
Part One – Hit The Fan

* * *

/-\ Yang Xiao Long /-\  


* * *

  
My eyes narrowed as I gunned the throttle on my ATV, hair flapping in the wind behind me. I jerked left as I reached the edge of our little thicket, ducking into the grassy creekbed and away from the low-hanging trees of the old driveway.  
  
My tires sank a little in the moist ground, but I was still more than able to maintain speed. My knuckles turned white as I rocketed on, heart pounding at a chance to finally _do_ something about this goddamn invasion.  
  
When New York was hit way back in April, I was one of the first people pounding on the doors of the army recruiting office in Bismarck. I was too young, they said, the front lines were no place for a _kid_ like me, they said. I growled.  
  
I'll fucking show them what a _kid like me_ can do.  
  
I gunned it around the bend, shooting past the big snow-white house that sprang up over the summer. A pair of green streaks shot over my head and I skidded to a stop, recognizing them instantly.  
  
Alien bullets.  
  
I hopped off the ATV, diving onto the creekbank and shoving shells into my shotgun. When I poked my head – and my gun – above the bank, I saw three Grey-like aliens scampering towards me. Without a second thought, I put a slug right between the lead one's eyes.  
  
A savage and satisfied grin spread across my face as I pumped my weapon, sending them running for cover. My follow-up round missed, going between my target's legs only a few moments before it slid behind a tree.  
  
I chambered a new round, ducking back into the creekbed as hot plasma soared over my head. I growled, tucking my shotgun to my chest and rolling to the side. I popped up about twenty feet from where I started, meeting one of the Grey's wide eyes as I put a shot into its exposed torso. It flopped to the ground with a screech, glowing yellow blood painting the bushes behind it. The other turned, scampering towards the house.  
  
I was _extremely_ tempted to shoot as it retreated, but the fear of hitting the house's occupants with a missed shot stayed my hand. In the distance, I heard the roar of another ATV approaching. My eyes narrowed and I charged after the alien, bursting through the door.  
  
The first thing I saw was a guy in his forties lying face down on the kitchen tile, his butler uniform soaked with his own blood. I _barely_ held back the urge to vomit, gagging a little in my mouth. The trill of the Greys brought me back to reality, their scratching coming from somewhere nearby.  
  
I raised my gun and moved through the pristine and decorationless white hall, my footsteps muffled by the thin blue carpet. As the hallway opened up into a full-on foyer, my ears also picked up the faint wail of a _very_ young child.  
  
My eyes widened, gun snapping up the grand staircase to the second floor. I could see movement, if only barely. The kid's cries kept me from firing as I crept up the stairs, frowning when the awkward layout obstructed me from getting a clear shot.  
  
The pair of Greys stopped scratching at the door, the wailing infant behind it becoming even more audible. I froze as their gazes locked onto me, raising their weapons.  
  
I dove forward, hiding behind the wall as a _sting_ in my arm told me that I wasn't _quite_ successful in my dodge. "Sonofa-" I muttered, whipping around the corner and blasting one of them in the chest.  
  
My ears rung from the gunshot, the close quarters making the noise even worse. Before I could even pump the shotgun, the sole remaining alien scampered around the corner, gun at the ready.  
  
Without thinking, I lunged at it, thrusting its weapon's muzzle towards the ceiling. As its shots impacted, I sent a wild haymaker straight into its eye. The Grey reeled back, but I didn't let up the assault, kneeing its gut several times while I kept it grappled.  
  
I heard someone coming up the stairs; I need to finish this _quickly_. With a grunt of effort, I threw the alien over my shoulder and slammed it to the ground, landing on it, pumping my shotgun, and pointing it towards the stairs in one motion…  
  
…only to avert my aim when a pair of familiar grey eyes stared back at me.  
  
"Uhh… hey there!" I said. "Fancy meeting you here, sis!"  
  
She ran up and pressed the barrel of her rifle to the Grey's face, the ringing in my ears returning after she pulled the trigger. "-ang, .-. -he _hell_ -ere -ou thinking?!" She shouted. "You can't just run off like that! What if- what if something _happened_? Do you really want the last time I saw you to be when you zoomed away on an ATV?! Huh?!"  
  
I got up, dusting myself off with a wince. "Woah woah woah there, Rubes, I wasn't gonna-"  
  
"Yang, you're hit!" She shouted, eyes zooming in on my arm. "We need to get you to a hospital and-" She paused. "Wait, is there a… _kid_ behind that door?"  
  
"I think so." I said. "Ayys were _really_ trying to get in there." I turned the handle, finding it locked. "Hey!" I shouted. "Whoever's in there, we're Human and we're comin' in!" With a grunt, I slammed into the door, busting it open. The only things the sparse room held were a dresser, a single crib, and the baby inside. Suddenly, I remembered _who_ we found laying the kitchen. "Ruby… call 911. If that guy downstairs is her dad…"  
  
Her eyes widened and she immediately whipped out her phone, dialing. Suddenly, I heard a faint and familiar chittering. Readying my shotgun, I peered out the window.  
  
I gasped. "Rubes, they've got that new girl from school!" I said, seeing two more Greys carrying the white-haired prissy girl.  
  
"Wait, what?" She let out, joining me.  
  
I grunted. "Stay here, I'll try to catch 'em!" I shouted, ignoring her cries for me to wait. I sprinted down the stairs, kicking open the front door and running after the retreating aliens. Behind me, I heard glass shatter and a moment later, Ruby's rifle rang out.  
  
Ahead, the Grey that held the girl's arms suddenly dropped, the remainder of its face _just_ touching the treeline. Its partner turned, whipping out its weapon as it dropped the girl's knees. I dove to the ground, its fire sailing right over my head.  
  
It scampered to cover, the only sound from my gun being the click of the empty chamber. I pumped it, my shot ricocheting off the tree it hid behind. My eyes widened when I suddenly found myself staring down the glowing green barrel of its plasma gun, the alien's fingers tightening around the trig-  
  
Ruby's rifle boomed, a streak of yellow blood shooting out of the alien's big, bulbous head.  
  
I sighed in relief, head dropping into the grass for a moment. Suddenly, I became _acutely_ aware of my chest's displeasure at serving as a landing cushion. 'I bet I'm feeling better than that Grey, though…' I thought, getting up with a groan.  
  
I stowed my weapon, walking over to the Ice Queen and kicking her foot. "Hey, you good?" I asked, receiving no response. "Hey, c'mon, we have to go." Still nothing. I rolled my eyes, grunting as I tried to pick her up. 'God- _damn_ , she's heavier than she looks!' I thought, deciding that dragging her back to the house was good enough. I _could_ carry her if I wanted, but what was the point when this was so much easier?  
  
I know I'd probably get chewed out for this – especially since I could see grass stains start appearing on her white outfit… and hair – but if it got her out of harm's way, I could live with that.  
  
"Yang!" Ruby shouted, bolting to the other side of the girl and grabbing her ankles. We hoisted her up, taking her inside the house. "Take a left, that looks like the living room!" She said. We did so, practically dumping her on the white leather couch. "Dispatch said that Dad and Qrow were the closest; they'll be here in fifteen minutes."  
  
I shook my head. "Good. I'ma make sure she's alright; go back upstairs and keep watch."  
  
"Stay safe." She said before bolting back upstairs.  
  
I knelt down next to her, putting my palm only a few inches above her mouth. Warm air hit it, making me sigh in relief. I moved to assess her injuries, looking for any cuts, bruises, or red-stains on her clothi-  
  
"Yang, we've got company!"  
  
I bolted upright, my shotgun out in an instant. Ruby's rifle barked, the infant's cries resuming afterwards. I grabbed a fistful of shells from my pockets, shoving them into my '870 as fast as my trembling fingers would let me.  
  
Just as soon as I pumped my shotgun, a Grey scurried in through the door. I blew its head off, chambering another round as I ran to the do-  
  
I ducked back inside, plasma streaking past my face. "Woah, that was close!" I shouted. Ruby shot again, the alien rounds ceasing their assault on my position a moment later. I slowly peeked my head out, trying to avoid drawing their attention again.  
  
Once I did, I saw the _four_ Greys peeking out from the trees.  
  
I grunted, tempted to focus on the one with the glowing veins in its head, but my better judgement won out. "Ruby!" I shouted. "I'm gonna distract them! Aim for the mooks and then we can focus on the boss!"  
  
"Got it!" She shouted from upstairs.  
  
I jerked around the corner, firing off a round that _somehow_ struck one of the underling Greys in the chest, dropping it instantly. I sprinted towards the trees as fast as I could, legs and arms pumping madly as my gun flapped behind me on its sling.  
  
Just as I dove behind a _mostly_ intact tree, Ruby's rifle barked once more, a Grey's dying screech piercing through the air. "Nice shot!" I shouted, getting up and bum rushing the nearest alien. With a wicked smile on my face, I shoved my shotgun into its throat and pulled the trigger.  
  
The back of its neck _exploded_ , its body going one direction and its head going another. I pumped my shotgun, ready to charge the boss alien the _moment_ Ruby fired.  
  
…  
  
…  
  
…I poked my head up slightly, trying to see why Ruby hadn't fired yet.  
  
I blinked, seeing a thin purple line stretch from the Grey's head to a window in the house. "What the fu-" A _lance_ of pain shot through my side, throwing me to the ground.  
  
I screamed, immediately pressing my hand to the wound and ducking back into cover. My eyes widened when I felt hot and sticky liquid _worm_ its way through my fingers. Suddenly, I heard the rapid crunching of leaves coming from the creekbed where I came from.  
  
"Yang!" A familiar voice shouted. "Ruby!"  
  
I grit my teeth, taking off my yellow sweater and tying the sleeves around my waist. Then I took off my belt, cinching it so tightly atop the hoodie that it dug into my ribs. I hissed in pain, feeling the fabric get shoved into my wounds.  
  
Suddenly, my sister's rifle boomed once more. I popped up just in time to see my boyfriend's blonde head fall to the grass, a huge red hole in his back.  
  
"Jaune!" I screamed.  
  
Without thinking, I rushed out of cover towards his bo-  
  
A gust of wind blew past me, accompanied by a loud bang from above. I flinched, covering my ringing ears as I instinctively glanced behind me…  
  
…and saw a _bullet_ in the grass.  
  
My eyes widened as I traced its path… right up to where Ruby stood at her perch, racking the bolt of her rifle. Her motions were jerky, eyes glazed over and reflecting the thin purple light of the line that connected her and the alie- My thoughts ground to a halt.  
  
"…They can mind control people…" I muttered, staring down her gun's barrel. Just as she squeezed the trigger, a flare of life shined in her eyes and her rifle jerked to the side, the shot going wide. I grit my teeth. "Fight it, Ruby!" I shouted, whipping around towards my target. "Big sis is coming to help…" I muttered, eyes narrowed as I charged the alien.  
  
Another bullet streaked past me, clipping my hair but not doing much else. I grunted, the _hole_ in my side throbbing with every step. A trill escaped from the Grey's lips as it raised the ray gun in its hands. I grunted, boots pounding against the earth as I rushed forward, zig zagging randomly to throw off its aim.  
  
Its trio of shots went wide, flying past me and striking the building behind me. I raised my gun, legs still pumping forward, and pulled the trigger. My slug slammed into the alien, sending it spinning as it _barely_ held onto its weapon. By the time it raised it again to return fire, I'd already chambered another round.  
  
This round tore through the other side of its chest, making its rounds go wide. I grit my teeth, pumping my weapon again and putting one final round through its skull…  
  


* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\  


* * *

  
I gasped, falling to my knees and dropping a half-inserted spare magazine. I looked at my hands, commanding them to open and close. I sat in shock for a moment as they _actually_ did what I told them to, unlike what happened a few minutes ag-  
  
My eyes shot wide. "Yang!" I shouted, rushing downstairs. I practically leaped out the door, staring in mute horror as my sister shambled towards me, the side of her wife-beater drenched in blood as it seeped out from her makeshift bandage. "Y- Yang! I- I- I shot you! A- a- a- and Jaune! Wha- wha- what do I…"  
  
"Just… sit tight." She said through clenched teeth. "Go… see if Jaune's alright. I'll keep watch." She leaned against the house's pristine white siding, shaky hands loading more shells into her weapon.  
  
"I- I- I'll… be right back!" I shouted, running over to where Jaune lay. I slid down next to his unmoving body, shivering as I looked at the great big _hole_ in his chest.  
  
The hole _I_ made.  
  
With a shaky hand, I reached for his wrist.  
  
…  
  
…  
  
I readjusted my grip.  
  
…  
  
…  
  
My eyes widened, heart racing as I moved up to his neck.  
  
…  
  
…  
  
…  
  
…nothing.  
  
"J- Jaune?" I muttered, gently shaking his body. There was no response. No twitching, no sudden gasp, not even a groan. Just… nothing. I withdrew my shaking hand, just… _staring_ at the _corpse_ … I made…  
  
I felt… numb.  
  
'What the hell am I gonna tell Yang?' I thought. 'Oh, sorry I shot your boyfriend, sis! I could stop myself from killing _you_ , but Jaune? Nah…' I stiffened. 'What about his family? He said he had seven sis-'  
  
A loud, meaty _thunk_ made me jump, my head whipping around to see-  
  
I gasped. "Yang!" I shot to my feet, running over to where my sister sat, leaning against the house with her weapon in her lap. She groaned, looking at me with half-glazed eyes as one of her hands pressed her wound. "Yang! What do I do?!"  
  
"I… dunno…" She said, head rolling to the side.  
  
I grabbed her chin, refocusing her attention on me. "Yang! Yang, I know how to fix _machines_ , not people! Tell me what to do!" She only mumbled incoherently. "Yang, please!" I shouted.  
  
I waited for several moments, only seeing her head bob up and down as her glazed-over gaze wandered about. Suddenly, a loud roar boomed from the treeline behind me and I realized just how _exposed_ we were, just sitting here.  
  
Throwing the strap of her gun around my back, I dragged her inside, propping her against a pristine white cabinet in the foyer. Peering out the door back into the twilight-stricken yard, I saw several pairs of blazing yellow eyes stare back at me from the treeline, their forms shrouded in shadow.  
  
Suddenly, a lance of green light shot out from their location, only _barely_ missing me as I ducked back behind the doorway. The alien round cut deep into the staircase, blowing away a tire-sized section of wood.  
  
Just over the sound of their growls and thumping footsteps, I could hear the roar of an engine and the whine of police sirens approaching in the distance. I glanced at my sister, seeing her chest rise and fall as she remained slumped over. I leaned down, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a few more shells, topping off the shotgun's magazine and shoving the remainder into my own pockets as the heavy footsteps drew closer and closer.  
  
I took a deep breath, keeping low and crawling to the window on the other side of the cabinet. I popped up, my sights instantly locked onto one of the _hulking_ forms in the yard as it ran towards the door. I pulled the trigger, the round stripping away the armor's green-tinted finish and leaving a shining silver streak where it deflected.  
  
I grunted, cycling the bolt as the alien raised its weapon to fire. I raised the sights up above its head – adjusting for the apparent inaccuracy of the weapon – before pulling the trigger, my eyes widening as a hail of green plasma sailed towards me…  
  


* * *

/-\ Taiyang Xiao Long /-\  


* * *

  
I yanked the wheel sideways, engine gunning as I drifted around a bend in the road. "Qrow, when we pull up, grab the long gun." I said.  
  
"Sure, Sarge." He said. "What about Mister 'Special Forces' in the back?"  
  
In the rear-view mirror, I saw our dark-skinned guest fiddling with his strange pistol, part of its barrel glowing red. "He's with me." I said, whipping around another corner.  
  
Qrow rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, trust the guy who runs up to us _just_ as we're responding to Ruby's call and says his commander all the way in friggin' _Nigeria_ told him to help."  
  
"Hey, as far as I can tell, the guy's Human." I said. "That's a hell of a lot better than what we're gonna be up against."  
  
"I just wanna know why the hell he's even _here_. Seriously, what's a foreign spec-ops type doin' all the way out here in the ass-end of nowhere by himself?"  
  
"Multinational counter-alien operations." He said. "Anything more than that's classified, I'm afraid."  
  
"Figures." Qrow said. "Well, we're just about there… show us what'cha got, hotshot."  
  
I pulled into the driveway, the SUV driving straight through the closed gate as if it wasn't even there. I hit the brakes, unbuckled my seatbelt, hit the parking brake, and jumped out before I even came to a full stop.  
  
Drawing my pistol, I instantly let our newfound comrade out of the back, his own weapon snapping to attention as his eyes scanned the house. Nearby, a shotgun boomed. _Yang's_ shotgun. Before I could even open my mouth, the soldier took off. "I'll take point!" He shouted, me only a few paces behind. "Central, I've reached the AO with local law enforcement in tow. Unknown elements have already engaged the X-Rays; audio contact only."  
  
We darted around the side of the mansion, pistols held high as the boom of a single weapon continued to punch through the twilight air. As we drew closer, I started to hear strange noises; big, guttural growls, stomping feet, and something I couldn't Identify. He practically threw himself against the wall, peaking around the corner before immediately opening fire.  
  
He ducked back just as several green bursts flew past. "Go through the window and flank 'em! I'll distract these sons of bitches!" He popped out of cover, squeezing off a few more rounds before retreating again. "What, are you waiting for me to hold your goddamn hand? Get through the fucking window, soldier!"  
  
I shook my head, turning to the window, opening it, and crawling through, landing on the floor with a loud thud. I groaned, scrambling to my feet and rushing past a white sheeted king-sized bed. I shoulder-checked the bedroom door, spitting me out into a hallway.  
  
I cleared the left with my pistol before turning to the right, heading towards the sounds of combat. After only a few paces, I entered a kitchen. "Shit…" I muttered, cuing my radio. "Code-one-hundred; nobody we know." I said as I stepped over the body – dispatch acknowledging my statement – and followed the muddy footprints into a different hallway.  
  
I heard a loud _crash_ come from the right as I stepped past a shattered and splintered staircase, my pistol immediately whipping to the source. My eyes widened as I saw a _monster_ through the shower of splinters and debris that was once the front entrance.  
  
And my _daughters_ fearfully crouching in the corner, my eldest's shirt stained in red.  
  
I gasped, my pistol instantly sighted on the alien's head as I pulled the trigger as fast as I could, Ruby's shotgun joining my own weapon's chorus of lead. When they hit the creature's collar, they only dented and scratched the metal, but whenever my aim was true and they struck its unprotected skull? A spray of florescent yellow left the alien.  
  
My magazine clicked empty as it raised its glowing green rifle towards Ruby, her eyes wide. The next thing I knew, I was flying towards it, my arms wrapping around its arm as my momentum forced it to miss.  
  
The alien growled, pain erupting all across my body as I was suddenly flung backwards into a wall…  
  


* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\  


* * *

  
"Dad!" I shouted, quickly lining up a shot and putting one last round between the alien's eyes. It rumbled, falling over as its rifle exploded into fragments. I turned towards my father's prone form, ducking to avoid more plasma rounds as they shot through what used to be the window. I ran to his side, rolling him over. He visibly winced, eyes flickering open. "Oh thank god…" I muttered, hugging him.  
  
Suddenly, even more green bolts flew through the _holes_ in the wall. I gasped, dragging my dad behind cover as he reloaded his pistol. As I turned away, he grabbed my arm. "Stay… safe, 'kay?" He muttered. "I don't know what I'd do without you girls."  
  
I gave him a soft smile. "I'll do my best." I said, chambering a new round and charging back into the battered and broken foyer, chunks of partially melted glass crunching beneath my boots with every stride.  
  
I pressed up against the charred wall on the side of the window, poking my gun out. Outside, lances of green and red lit up the darkness, the occasional tracer round from an assault rifle joining them. I counted two sources of the green streaks, only one of them being lit up with a flashlight. Taking aim, I managed to loose a pair of rounds before the plasmafire washed over my position once more, forcing me back into cover.  
  
Their barrage only lasted a few moments, letting me pop back out with a fresh shell in the chamber. I squeezed off a round, sending the illuminated enemy to an early grave. As I was acquiring the other target, a _beam_ of light suddenly illuminated the entire yard, its source being somewhere in the forest.  
  
A _wave_ of gunfire – both rifle and pistol in origin – washed over the remaining alien. It instantly ducked behind a tree, taking cover against the new threat…  
  
…and opening itself up to fire from myself and the others off to the right.  
  
Laserfire and gunfire slammed into its armored form as the newcomers kept them suppressed. The monster charged towards the mansion before being cut down only a few yards from the hole where the doorway used to be.  
  
I let out a sigh of relie- I bolted upright. "Yang!" I shouted, darting to her side. I shook her and my heart skipped a beat when she gave no response _whatsoever_. Shakily, I reached for her neck, feeling for a-  
  
Ba-dum…  
  
Ba-dum…  
  
Ba-dum…  
  
I sighed in relief, jumping to my feet and running to- "Dad!" I shouted, making him jump. "Dad, Yang needs an ambulance!"  
  
He visibly paled. "Dispatch, gimmie a 10-52 at our location immediately! Stand by for wound assessment." He shouted into the radio before turning to me. "What are her injuries?"  
  
I shivered. "She- she's been shot! It just grazed her side, but she's bleeding _everywhere_!"  
  
He cued his radio once more. "GSW to the side of the abdomen." He glanced behind me. "Patient is unconscious."  
  
"10-4, dispatching EMS." The radio called back.  
  
Suddenly, a… _guy_ in a tan coat and blue jeans jumped through the window, sliding down next to Yang and setting down both his strange pistol and his briefcase. He quickly undid the makeshift bandage around her waist, giving me an uncomfortably good view of my… my _handiwork_.  
  
He undid the latches of his briefcase, withdrawing a white and red D-shaped object with a canister at its top. He pointed it at her wound, pulling the trigger and releasing a fine blue mist that covered her entire bloodied side.  
  
Her flesh knit itself back together before my very eyes, the red seemingly disappearing as her pinkish skin – though ruffled and scarred – replaced it. Suddenly, she jerked awake, gasping. "W- What happened?"  
  
"Just sit tight." The man said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The dizziness will go away soon."  
  
She slumped back down, pressing a hand to her forehead. "…m'kay…"  
  
His eyes darted to me. "Do you guys need help?" He asked.  
  
I nodded. "I don't, but he does." I said, pointing to my father.  
  
He nodded, taking the D-shaped object and pointing at the holes in his back that were slowly oozing blood. I watched as the process repeated itself, what flesh I could see coming together just as Yang's had.  
  
He groaned, stretching his now-repaired muscles. "Damn, did you fix my ribs too?" He asked. "I know at least one of 'em was cracked after I hit the wall."  
  
"Gotta have the best stuff for _this_ job." He shrugged. "Those patches are only temporary. You'll still need time to heal afterwards, but you'll be good to fight for a few hours yet." He said, hauling my dad to his feet.  
  
"Good to know, so what no-"  
  
Suddenly a loud and feminine wail pierced the air, coming from outside. Our gazes all shot towards its source, even Yang shooting through her feet in response. "That..." She muttered. "That… sounds like Nora…"  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white-clad figure stumble out of the living room. Eyes and weapon immediately darting towards it, I-  
  
...lowered the sights to the floor.  
  


* * *

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\  


* * *

  
"New girl?" Ruby let out.  
  
I winced, another spike of pain shooting through my head as my red-clad schoolmate lowered her weapon. "What are you all doing in my house?" I asked, blinking away the last vestiges of unconsciousness and seeing the _ruin_ that used to be my foyer. "What _happened_ here?!"  
  
The four strangers before me – or _near_ strangers, in Ruby and Yang's case – glanced between each other. Suddenly the policeman's radio buzzed to life. "Tai, Yang's friends are out here." A gravelly voice said. "They've… got a one-hundred on their hands."  
  
Ruby and Yang both stared at the man. "Dad…" Yang said. "What does that mean?"  
  
"I- I- It means… Jaune's dead." Ruby said, her gaze trailing to the floor.  
  
"You- you can't know that for sure!" Yang shouted. She received only silence in response. "Ruby?" A single tear traced down her cheek. "Please tell me he isn't…" She trailed off her sister still refusing to meet her gaze. In a flash she was out the door, the policeman and the stranger hot on her heels as they shouted for her to come back.  
  
That just left Ruby and I.  
  
As a pair of her tears splashed onto the shattered floor, I noticed something. I couldn't _read_ her. She was obviously hurting, but I couldn't feel it; it was like I was on those damn pills again. I... slowly approached her, slightly unsure of what to do. with an outstretched hand, I-  
  
She latched onto me.  
  
I froze, body going completely stiff at the unfamiliar sensation. Part of me wanted to shove her off, run upstairs to my room and lock the door. Then I felt the _slightest_ hint of her true feelings and before I knew it, found myself… _hugging_ her back.  
  
Before I could even think about releasing her, the others slowly filtered in through the door. Yang gave me a glance before her gaze once again fell to the floor. Two of our other classmates followed behind her – a ginger girl and a dark-haired boy – their expressions just as dark as hers. Behind them, a… dog-shaped _robot_ – a pair of arms folded at its side – trotted along, no one saying a _word_ about it.  
  
The policemen were next; plural, as the one from before had apparently found his partner. Ruby let go, flying to her sister's side. Lastly, the strange man came through, a body hoisted over his shoulder. I gasped, hands flying to cover my mouth as I _stared_.  
  
I never even… _thought_ about what a body would look like, let alone _seen_ one with my very eyes. He walked over and set it down under the stairs – in a bare alcove that we still hadn't _quite_ gotten around to designating a purpose for after the move earlier this month.  
  
I walked over to the body, legs shaking as I realized that I _recognized_ the boy. I never knew his name, but I did see him in the hallways a couple times for all of the week I've gone to school so far. I just… stood there, completely unsure of what to do. A body was in my house… a _battle_ took place at my house…  
  
What the _hell_ has the world come t-  
  
I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me gasp in fright. "Sorry." The blonde policeman said as I whipped around to face him. "We're holing up here until reinforcements arrive; do ya got anywhere more defensible than… _this_?" He said, gesturing to the _ruin_ of the front wall… and the alien body beside it.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruby descend the stairs, a big gun strapped to her back. "U- Umm…"  
  
Suddenly, I heard heavy boots pound against the kitchen floor. I whipped around just in time to see strange men enter the hallway, the odd rifles in their hands clicking against their chestplates as their demonic eyes stared unblinkingly forward.  
  
The brown-coated man whipped around, staring at the _army_ of suited men approaching us. "Shit! It's Exa-" A lance of red light speared him in the head, dropping him instantly. My hands flew to my mouth as I gasped, the men fanning out around the room and each picking a target, but not firing.  
  
No one moved a muscle; not with a half dozen laser guns pointed at our faces.  
  
After a few moments, one of the men turned his head to the side slightly, his voice coming out is radio static. Then a woman casually walked in, the only thing out of place being a loose lock of crimson hair swaying free from the rest of its kind, pulled back in a tight bun. She strode over to the corpse of the man and picked up his pistol, examining it.  
  
She hummed, dropping it and turning towards us. "Hello again." she said.  
  
Yang's eyes went wide " _Pyrrha_?"  
  
All the men's weapons immediately snapped onto her. Before they could fire, Pyrrha's hand shot up. Slowly, the men pointed their weapons towards their original targets. "Please excuse them, standard protocol is to execute those who know our civilian identities." She said, walking to Jaune's body. She only stared for a moment, but in that moment, I saw her eyes begin to water. "This is a bullet wound..." She said, her fists clenching. She whipped around to face us. " _Which_ one of you did this?!"  
  
We all flinched startled by the harshness of her voice. Slowly, Ruby raised her hand. "I-" She started. "I couldn't-" She yelped as a red lance singed the edge of her sleeve.  
  
Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, the end of her pistol smoking. "You have five seconds to tell me _exactly_ what happened." Her aim adjusted slightly. "You _won't_ see the next one."  
  
Even in my current state, I could feel the sheer _terror_ that rolled off her in waves. The feeling caught me off-guard and I winced, one of the men's eyes flicking to me for a moment. Ruby's mouth worked wordlessly as she spit out various incoherent syllables, our classmate's trigger finger tightening with each passing mome-  
  
"It was mind control!" Yang suddenly shouted, her mind reeling with _panic_. All our gazes suddenly shot to the blonde, Pyrrha's pistol still trained on her sister. "Please, sh- she didn't mean to do it! She snapped out of it as soon as I killed the glowy fucker!"  
  
Pyrrha frowned. "She wouldn't have been able to discriminate between her targets; _you_ seem just fine."  
  
"I- I- I didn't." Ruby said, her head lowering as _shame_ replaced terror. "I… I shot her too."  
  
Tai ever so slowly and gingerly walked to the center of the room, his hands held high and clearly visible. "Let's all just… calm down." He said. "We don't need to threaten anybody, nobody else needs to die here today. That soldier said his friends were on the way. If we can set up a perimeter, then-"  
  
"You're sure?" A new and gravelly voice interrupted. Out from the kitchen, another suited man stepped forward. He shared the same demonic eyes as his brethren, but they were situated in a skull that looked _sickly_ green, dozens of cracks running along the surface of his bald and dry head. "You are absolutely _sure_ that his allies are on the way?"  
  
The policeman stood silent for a few moments. "The guy said so."  
  
She glanced to the demonic man before pressing her finger to her ear. She spoke, though her words came out entirely as radio static. After over a minute of what looked like a heated argument, she shook her head. "I'm… sorry." she said. "I wanted to go back to normal after this, but we simply do not have time."  
  
"What do you mean by _that_?" He asked.  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "It means that you're the first wave." She said, nodding her head towards the door. "The UFO's that way."  
  
He physically recoiled. "Wait, you want us to go out _there_?!"  
  
"I hate it just as much as you do, but orders are orders." She said. "If we had more time, we could do it safer."  
  
He crossed his arms. "There is no way in _hell_ that I'm gonna let you send my _daughters_ out to be ki-" Suddenly, a lance of red light speared him in the head, dropping him just as the stranger had been. I glanced to the demonic man, frozen in place as his pistol smoked.  
  
"Dad!" The sisters shouted, running to his side.  
  
Another laser round impacted the floor only a foot from them. "Unless you want to join him, I'd suggest you get going." They glared at him, _hate_ rolling off them in waves as they slowly stood back up. His eyes swung to me. "Where is your weapon?"  
  
I recoiled in surprise. "W- What?" I muttered. "I don't-"  
  
His weapon swung to me. "You aren't _useful_ without one, you know…"  
  
"I- I can learn!" I shouted, eyes wide.  
  
He nodded to the policeman's corpse. "Take his; he won't need it anymore."  
  
I slowly approached, heart hammering a mile a minute. I knelt over him, giving the sisters a glance. They nodded, their _hate_ for the man having only increased in the few moments it took for me to retrieve his gun. I started to get up, but the other policeman stopped me, reaching inside his fallen comrade's belt and handing me two long black… _boxes_? that held bullets. I quickly stuffed them into my pockets and got back to my feet.  
  
We turned to leave, walking out the- "Ah ah ah." The man said, looking towards the other policeman. "I want your radio."  
  
He sighed, stepping between us and the crazed gunman. "Go on, I'll be right behind you." He said. "And would one of you _please_ tell that girl to stop flagging everyone already…"  
  
Yang suddenly appeared at my side, her face still sullen as we walked outside. "Finger off the trigger, Princess." She said, showing me how she held her shotgun. "And keep that thing pointed _away_ from people."  
  
I sighed. "How do I even _use_ this? I've never even… _wanted_ to hold a gun."  
  
She groaned, holding out her hand. "Give it here." I did so and we quickly went over how to use this… _weapon._ She explained the proper way to hold it, what buttons to push, what happened when I ran out of ammo, etcetera, finishing up just as the policeman rejoined us, the crazed gunman right behind him.  
  
He pointed off into the woods. "The UFO's that way. Take one step back, aaaaaaand…" A laser streaked right past my face, only missing by _inches_. I could _feel_ the heat even after the laser died, and running a finger along my skin, I winced. "I'd get a move on if I were you." He said.  
  
Pyrrha appeared at the door, her own weapon held low. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry."  
  
Yang's eyes narrowed. " _You_ didn't just watch your _Dad_ get murdered." She said, turning her back and walking into the woods…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm guessing a few people have some choice words for my decisions in this half of the chapter. I'd recommend you save them for after the second part (which is either already up or will be momentarily). You'll have even more to say then.


	3. Belly Of The Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two. The warning from earlier goes doubly for this part; XCOM's gonna XCOM.

Chapter Two  
Part Two – Belly Of The Beast

* * *

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\  


* * *

  
The rest of us followed Yang without a word, our guns held at the ready as we stepped into the forest. The policeman quickly took the lead, saying he had more experience in this sort of thing than the rest of us combined. For the same reason, the others told me to stick to the back of our little column; I just didn't have the skills necessary for this sort of thing.  
  
I winced, another thorn digging into the parts of my legs that wasn't covered by either my shoe or my skirt. Just then, I realized that the little robot wasn't with us anymore. 'Huh… I wonder where it-' I nearly tripped when the log I'd stepped on suddenly gave way, recovering just in time to get wacked in the face with a branch.  
  
Groaning, I felt my face. A warm and sticky liquid flowed between my fingers. Though I couldn't see its color in the darkness, it didn't take a genius to know I was bleeding. I grit my teeth, getting back up and heading back towards the othe-  
  
A gust of wind suddenly rushed past me.  
  
I froze for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing o-  
  
_Something_ wrapped around my neck.  
  
I gasped, hands instantly going for the mechanical _tentacle_ digging into my skin. Only a moment after did I realize I _dropped_ my gun in the process. My heart hammered in my chest as my vision slowly began to recede. In the distance, I faintly heard someone shouting, but my failing hearing couldn't discern _what_ it was.  
  
I tried t call out for help, but nothing but pained gasps left my lips. With growing horror, I realized that the glowing yellow eyes in front of me might just be my _last_ sight. I kicked and punched and struggled against my attacker, but nothing seemed to work. I fought just to keep my eyes open, feeling its tentacles grab onto my limbs and hold them in place.  
  
The eyes were barely even visible through the fog of darkness, now, my arms and legs feeling like they were weighed down with chunks of lead as I continued to struggle… to no avai-  
  
The pressure released and I fell to the ground, gasping.  
  
I laid there for a while, coughing and wheezing as my senses gradually returned. Suddenly, a hand placed itself on my back. I _froze._ "P- Please d- don't…" I muttered. "N- Not again… please, I just wanna go home. I just wannagohomeIjustwanna-"  
  
"Hey…" A feminine voice said. "It's… it's gone now."  
  
Her voice, and the feeling of sincerity that followed, made me chance a glance upward. In the faint moonlight, I saw the ginger girl stare back at me. After years of being… in _my_ family, I could tell that her faint smile was hollow at best, but I could not sense any ill intent from her… just… misery.  
  
I closed my eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and sat up. She nodded, pulling me to my feet and handing me the weapon I'd dropped. I glanced at the mechanical _monster_ that attacked me, sparks arcing across the bulletholes in its frame.  
  
Just then, I noticed that we weren't the only two here; Yang was helping the policeman up after he'd suffered a similar fate to myself, the others keeping an eye out for more of the… _things_ that did this. I shivered, walking with the girl as she motioned me forward.  
  
After a scant few more moments, we were on the move again, this time without me in the back. I just… couldn't stand to be back there anymore; having even a _single_ person behind me made it bearable.  
  
Even so, I continued to trip and stumble on almost everything in the dark, immensely jealous that no one else seemed to be having problems. Then the boy held up his hand, grabbing the policeman before he walked away.  
  
We all stood still for a second, wondering just _why_ we stopped in the first place. Then, over the sound of everyone's breathing, I heard it. Heavy thumps booming through the underbrush, insectoid trills accompanying it.  
  
"More Greys…" Yang whispered, just ahead of me.  
  
Ruby glanced back. "But what's that stomping? It sounds… _heavier_ than those big guys from before."  
  
The policeman turned back to us. "Find cover; we'll wait for them here."  
  
I jumped behind a particularly sturdy-looking tree, Ruby propping her rifle up on a pile of rocks next to me. To my right, Yang and the policeman took another pile of rocks, each crouching and bracing their weapons like Ruby did. Just ahead, the other two of our group crouched behind a fallen log.  
  
My hands started shaking as I held the weapon, still extremely nervous about having to actually _use_ it. I tried to keep quiet, but even I could hear my own shuddering breaths as they left my body. The thumps got closer and closer, the alien trills getting completely drowned out by the hammering of my heart in my ears.  
  
At the very edge of my vision, a tree suddenly collapsed. I instantly snapped my weapon towards it, and the faintly glowing lights floating over it. My finger tensed around the trigger, but I-  
  
**BANG!**  
  
The gun flew upwards, almost escaping my grip as the _massive_ and unexpected recoil hit me. In the distance, I saw the bullet spark off my target's armor. Next to me, Ruby swore. A loud explosion boomed from her rifle, earning another spark on her target.  
  
We both ducked back behind our cover, globs of green sailing over and beside us. I hissed in pain as I felt the heat through my thin clothing, my skin began to cook even as the mild bite of the fall night dulled its effects.  
  
I heard the others open fire as well, our weapons completely drowning out the sound of their alien counterparts. As the globs of green stopped flowing over our position I popped out again and braced to fire my weapon properly, this time.  
  
The group of aliens have gotten closer; close enough for me to make out their individual forms. the one That I shot at earlier — the one with the glowing red lights — was mostly metal; it looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Two giant cannons hung where its arms should be, while its pilots head remained exposed for some reason.  
  
Its giant eyes reflected the faint lights on its collar; I took aim between them. I squeezed off a round, but before I could refocus on the target, more green globs shot towards me out of seemingly nowhere. With a yelp, I ducked back behind cover.  
  
The tree smoldered as the alien bullets impacted its trunk, a section around my neck-level even completely _vaporizing_ before my eyes. I ducked down, hiding behind what little remained of my cover as the top part of the tree toppled over.  
  
More gunfire boomed from our positions, making the aliens focus on them instead. I glanced over at Ruby, who was… changing the box under her rifle? I shook my head, having no idea what she was doing, and peaked out from behind the tree, raising my weapon.  
  
I could clearly see the giant robot, but its head just so happened to be obscured by branches. I didn't know much about guns, but I still didn't have much confidence in my dinky little… _hand-weapon_ doing any lasting damage to its armor plates; despite how heavy it kicked. Instead, I aimed for one of its peons as it opened fire on the rocks that Yang and the policeman hid behind.  
  
My weapon barked twice – the noise dulled by the ringing in my ears – before I was forced down again. I _think_ I hit it at least once, but I didn't know for sure. The green globs returned in force, practically vaporizing what little remained of my tree.  
  
I gasped, diving behind Ruby's rock pile _just_ before even more alien bullets sailed through the place I stood moments ago. I felt the girl grab my shoulder, forcing me to look at her. "You alright?" I faintly heard her ask.  
  
I nodded.  
  
She glanced upward, seeing no green globs sailing over us. "On three…" She said. "One, two, THREE!" She popped up, weapon held to her shoulder. I joined her a second later; just as her weapon boomed.  
  
A spray of liquid shot out from the nearest alien as it dropped to the ground. I set my sights on the now-visible giant robot, but it opened fire before I could shoot…  
  
…only we weren't the targets.  
  
In front of us, our other two classmates – which I _still_ didn't know the names of – screamed.  
  
The boy was practically cut in _half_ by the barrage, only his legs flopping to the ground as his torso _ceased to exist_. I instantly gagged at the sight… and the _smell_ of… _scorched pork_ that filled my nostrils.  
  
" **REN!** " The girl shouted, just… crouching over what was _left_ of his body for a moment.  
  
Even in the darkness, I could see the sheer _fury_ behind her eyes. Faster than I could blink, she leaped over the log they had used for cover, charging the enemy with a bone-chilling roar.  
  
The aliens returned fire as the robot slowly turned towards her. All went wide as she dodged them; her form twisting and contorting as she _danced_ around them with the agility of a lightning bolt.  
  
Bullets pinged off the robot as it finally returned fire, but she was too nimble for them to strike. She leaped up, planting her boots atop its frame and pointed her weapon right at its pilot's skull.  
  
She readjusted her grip, pulling a different trigger closer to the end of the weapon. A mighty boom echoed from the weapon, something more like the one Yang wielded.  
  
I stood in awe as the robot collapsed. She didn't waste a single moment in her victory, charging the nearest alien and swinging her weapon at its head. I faintly registered the others dispatching the last pair of aliens with their own weapons as the girl's foe fell like a sack of rocks.  
  
The moment the bullets stopped flying, I rushed forward. She may have stood tall and strong, but… I _felt_ a different story. Her sheer despair pumped my legs forward. I reached out to embrace he-  
  
A streak of green pierced her chest, her eyes flying wide.  
  
I gasped, gaze immediately shooting towards its source as I raised my weapon. A lone alien laid in the bushes, one hand clutching its wounded chest while the other held the weapon that was rapidly swinging towards me.  
  
Without thinking, I squeezed the trigger. My weapon boomed again and again as I repeatedly shot the wounded… _monster_ that killed my classmate. I only stopped when my weapon clicked, the upper part locking back.  
  
I stood there for a moment, taking ragged breath after ragged breath. Slowly, my weapon lowered as I calmed do-  
  
I fell to my knees, gripping my skull in agony. Gritting my teeth, I turned towards the _pain engine_ that fueled my migraine…  
  
…and saw the girl laying there, mouth working wordlessly as she _tried_ to gasp for air.  
  
The life was rapidly fading from her eyes, and with it, the pain started to dull. I crawled over to her and held her hand. Her gaze snapped to me, the pain I felt being clear in her eyes as tears spilled free.  
  
Slowly, her gaze softened. I felt her fight harder and harder, but the… intensity of her emotions – and the pain they caused – continued to dwindle. After what felt like hours, her head rolled to the side. A moment later, the pain winked out; her presence gone.  
  
I knelt there, realizing I just… _felt someone die_.  
  
Slowly, her hand started to slip out of my grasp. I… held it there for a moment, not sure what to do. Eventually, I… I crossed her arms over the… _hole_ in her chest; her hands just big enough to cover it.  
  
"Princess?! Nora?!" I heard Yang shout.  
  
"O- Over here…" I responded, unable to tear my eyes off the… _body_ in front of me.  
  
Multiple sets of footsteps ran towards me, the underbrush rustling madly as they did so. I didn't bother to look back, knowing who approached. Someone gasped behind me and rushed forward. "Nora!" Yang shouted, kneeling across from me. She quickly grabbed the girl's wrist feeling for-  
  
"She's gone." I said, drawing her attention. "I… I felt her go."  
  
She pounded the ground with a fist. "God… _damnit_!" She shouted. "Why did this have to happen... first Jaune, then Dad, now Ren and Nora… why the _fuck_ did I-"  
  
Suddenly, a red laser bolt sailed past our heads, making us both jump back. I held my breath as I waited for the second one to come, but it never did. Looking to where I _thought_ it came from only revealed more brush shrouded in darkness; that and the others, who were fearfully glancing towards the source as well.  
  
"I… think they want us to hurry up." The policeman said.  
  
"Y- yeah..." Ruby let out.  
  
As the others glanced towards the glowing blue shields of the UFO in the distance, I… took one last glance at the gir- _Nora_.  
  
I fixed her hands, picking a nearby dandelion and tucked it in her grasp. It only took me a moment, but the others were already starting to move out.  
  
Quickly catching up to them, I approached Ruby, who was at the back of their column. I sighed, once more regretting my lack of gun knowledge. "My… weapon doesn't work anymore." I said, starting an embarrassing conversation where she taught me the concept of reloading.  
  
It only took a few minutes, but I still felt like a… _Neanderthal_ for not remembering it, though that clearly wasn't her intention. Her emotions were dulled – _everyone's_ was – as she tried to just… keep moving forward.  
  
As we grew nearer and nearer to the landed craft, something… _poked_ at the edge of my senses. By the time we'd reached the doors, my _physical body_ was actively fighting my attempts to get closer. The sheer _**HATE**_ and _**DESTRUCTION**_ that lay inside the UFO repelled me.  
  
It felt like someone _boiled down_ those two essences into their purest forms and… _made_ something out of it.  
  
Finally, I could take no more. I fell to my hands and knees, vomiting all over the ground. I faintly heard the others shouting in concern, but I was far more concerned with what my own body was doing.  
  
I groaned, the last of the vomit leaving my mouth. As I stood up, I realized that Yang held my hair through the whole ordeal; I nodded in thanks. "Better?" She asked.  
  
"Ugh… it's… _bearable_ now, I suppose…"  
  
"What… _happened_?" She asked. "You… seemed fine after we…" She frowned, glancing back to where Nora's… _corpse_ lay.  
  
I shuddered. "It… wasn't that." I said. "Listen; there's _something_ in there, I can feel it."  
  
They all gave me blank looks. "…What?"  
  
I bit my cheek, trying to concentrate over the _aura of malignance_ emanating from the UFO. "Look, long story short, I'm an empath and there's something… _**abhorrent**_ in there!" I shouted, pointing to the doors.  
  
"…What?" Yang let out, again. "Waitwaitwait, what's an empath?"  
  
I pinched my nose. "I'll explain it if we… _when_ we get out of this mess."  
  
"Fine." The policeman grunted. "Can your little spidey senses give us any more info?"  
  
I sighed, closing my eyes. "One moment…" I said, concentrating as hard as I could. I tried to push past the _rage_ that consumed the air; trying to pinpoint its source. I felt wetness dribble down from my nose as my headache grew. After seemingly hours, my eyes snapped open as I gasped, finding myself leaning against the hull of the UFO. "There's… only one of those… _things_ in there." I said. "It's… in the center of the ship, I think."  
  
He nodded. "Good. You alright?"  
  
I took a deep breath as I stood back up. "I'll… live." I said through gritted teeth.  
  
He hummed. "Stay near the back. And _everyone_ should stay behind me; got it?" The two sisters nodded. "Good. I'll sweep right, Ruby sweeps left. Yang and uhh… psychic girl, make sure nothing is at the center. Three… two… one… go!"  
  
We all burst through the door, guns raised, but not a shot was fired.  
  
I glanced around, my weapon pointed towards the ground as my shoes clinked on the metal flooring. The room itself wasn't all that big; scarcely bigger than the raised platform at the center containing a large and glowing column. On the far side stood an opaque shield in the shape of a door, much less transparent than the ones on the outside. My headache spiked when I looked at another shield door off to the left, a second presence making itself known.  
  
But this one was different; it felt almost… _Human_. Almost.  
  
Before I could say anything, the shield door shut down, Yang having put her hand through it. Two flashes of golden light shone through the empty doorframe, a pair of man-shaped – though rocky – forms seemingly _condensing_ out of them.  
  
Holding alien rifles.  
  
"Shit!" Yang shouted, ducking back just as a green beam shot through where she was only a moment ago.  
  
I ducked behind the raised platform, my head – and weapon – being the only things exposed. I squeezed off a trio of bullets, only one hitting its mark. To my astonishment, the small mark it left seemed to disappear _before my very eyes_.  
  
"They regenerate!" I shouted as another green bullet streaked by my head.  
  
"That's bullshit!" Yang shouted, blindly firing her shotgun around the corner.  
  
I kept firing, but my entire burst failed to land. Ruby, on the other hand, got a good hit on one of the creatures' legs, making it stumble out of its cover. Before I could react, the policeman snapped his rifle to it and fired off a burst of rounds.  
  
Even as the leg wound knitted itself back together, the new chest wounds formed. I added my own bullets to the fray and _finally_ it fell, dissolving back into a golden light.  
  
Its partner snapped its weapon out, firing at the policeman and singing his arm. "Gah!" He shouted, stumbling back.  
  
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, leaving her cover at the doorframe and running back to him.  
  
My eyes widened when I saw the alien's weapon train on her, too. I set my sights on its arm and pulled the trigger as fast as I could, oneof the last three bullets striking home. It was _just_ enough to throw off its aim, the beam going high and into the ceiling.  
  
I crouched back down, fumbling with my weapon as I tried to remember how Ruby helped me reload. I heard Yang shout as I finally found the release button, fumbling with a new… magazine? as I tried to insert it, still fighting the headaches and nausea from the… _creature_. Finally, I popped back up…  
  
…just in time to see Yang standing over the alien, blasting its head open with her weapon.  
  
Even then, it tried to reform, but she put another _three_ bullets into it. She let out a sigh of relief as it dissolved into light.  
  
Glancing back to make sure Ruby and… _Crow_? were okay, I headed into what seemed like the main chamber, where Yang stood frozen, eyes locked onto _something_ out of view. Even under the oppressive aura that permeated the entire ship, I could feel the hairs on her head stand on end. She slowly loaded more bullets into her weapon as I approached, the green-shelled monstrosities glinting in the artificial light.  
  
She glanced at me for only a moment as I approached, then refocusing her attention on whatever lied before her. "I… think I know what you're talking about…" She said.  
  
I fully entered the room and saw she was looking down a long corridor. Just beyond the two shield doors stood a cage… one with a pair of blood red eyes staring out from its depths. A low huff emanated from it, the beast within seemingly content to wait. My eyes were drawn to a big red button that stood next to it, its purpose obvious.  
  
She glanced around the room. "Okay… new plan. We run out of here as fast as we can and pretend monsters still aren't-"  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Pyrrha's voice said from our side.  
  
Our heads whipped around, seeing Crow and Ruby march towards us with their hands up – weapons discarded on the floor behind them – as a pair of suited men pushed them forward with the barrels of their laser guns. To our other side, I heard several pairs of boots clank onto the metal floor; barely a glance showed them to be more of _their_ comrades.  
  
"Weiss." She said.  
  
I snapped to her. " _What_?"  
  
"I believe you have a choice to make." A male voice said. The man from earlier stepped out into the room, his demonic face still hidden behind that ridiculous mask that him and his men wore.  
  
"And what would that be?"  
  
He crossed his arms. "Come with us peacefully, or your friends won't make it out of here alive."  
  
I blinked. "And _why_ do you want me specifically?"  
  
He hummed. "My organization has been looking for you – well, people _like_ you – for a _very_ long time indeed. In fact, that's the main reason why we're _here_ in the first place; we heard rumors of someone with unusual abilities moved here."  
  
I frowned. "But you didn't know it was me."  
  
"Not until you said so yourself."  
  
I stared at him for a moment before my gaze shifted to Ruby, her form ramrod straight as _fear_ rolled off her in waves. Beside me, I could feel Yang trying her best to squash the sheer _terror_ she felt. I sighed. "If I come with you… they can leave?"  
  
"Don't!" Qrow shouted. "They're terrorists, it won't end-" His captor hit him in the ribs with the butt of his weapon, knocking him to the floor.  
  
"On my honor, they will be allowed to leave." Their leader said. I glanced at him; he hid his emotions well, but I could just _barely_ see through his defenses.  
  
He was lying.  
  
I schooled my features, looking for _any_ workable solution. The aliens might be dead, but these… _people_ still surrounded us. I didn't have much time, as _impatience_ wormed his way into his emotions. Just that fact meant I didn't have time to wait until more police arrived.  
  
The cage behind me shook, the clanking of metal on metal grating to my ears as I instinctively whipped towards it. My eyes flicked to the big red button.  
  
Opening that cage would be a _very_ bad idea, but…  
  
I frowned; certain death for the others and a fate possibly even _worse_ for myself, or… _likely_ death for all of us?  
  
In a split second, I made my decision. My arm snapped back and I threw my weapon towards the button. I held my breath as it sailed towards the control panel, complete _silence_ in the room. For a moment, I worried that I'd misthrown the weapon.  
  
When I realized It was _very much_ on course to hit the button, I both felt relieved… and terrified.  
  
The weapon hit the button, the front door of the cage falling away a moment later. Without thinking, I started backing up, my gaze trained on the red eyes beaming out from the now _very much open_ cage.  
  
A _demonic_ growl boomed from inside, a black-furred paw emerging. Another followed, its claws slicing through the metal deck with ease. Slowly, the vaguely lupine creature came into view, its dagger-like fangs on display for all to see.  
  
White bone spikes protruded from its shoulders, joints, and back, while an engraved mask of the same make covered its upper head. I got a headache just _looking_ at this… _monster_ ; the feelings that had eaten away at my sanity growing even more as it stared back at me.  
  
"Open fire!" The terrorist leader shouted.  
  
Laserfire erupted all around me, the faint blue glow of the interior lights turning blood red in an instant. Before I even knew what was happening, the _monster_ was already gone from its previous position, the lasers following its path as it-  
  
"GUAHHH!" A man screamed.  
  
My mind was once again _assaulted_ with agony as one of the suited men was _cut in half_ by the monster's claws… right before it ended as his _skull_ was crushed beneath its rear paws. Gunfire from Yang's weapon joined the hail of crimson assaulting the beast, but it was too little, too late to save another of the suited men; his head completely _eviscerated_ by a single swipe of its claws.  
  
The next victim had their upper torso engulfed in the monster's jaws, a single bite tearing it completely off and ending his life in an instant. The creature was _starting_ to slow down from all the lasers and bullets pumped into it, but it still had more than enough energy to go after its next victim.  
  
Ruby.  
  
Just before its claws struck, Crow pushed her out of the way… taking the hit in her stead.  
  
He was torn in half, dead before the two… _pieces_ of him hit the floor. The sisters shouted his name as the monster continued tearing its way through the suited men… the latest victim being their leader, who was grabbed at the waist and ripped in half as it bit a chunk out of his midsection.  
  
The man's weapon went flying, clanking to a rest at my feet. Without a second thought, I hefted the weapon up, only managing it to get about to hip level before opening fire. This one had a much higher rate of fire than the other ones, blasting away chunks of black fur with hits by the dozen.  
  
By the time our combined efforts finally brought it down, Pyrrha was the only one of her fellows still standing. I didn't trust that it was actually dead for a second, continuing to pour red streaks into its immobile form.  
  
The others had the same idea, hitting it so much it seemed to _evaporate_.  
  
Only when less than half of its form remained – and in a black _sludge_ at that – did we stop firing. I fell to my knees as I drunk in the… _carnage_ around us. The floor was painted entirely in red, stray guts from random people littered the area, and to make matters worse, the entire room stank of _burnt flesh_.  
  
It made me want to vomit all over again; I would've if I still had to deal with the migraine.  
  
Small mercies…  
  
Small mercies… in a field of _corpses_.  
  
A field of corpses that _Pyrrha_ had a hand in _making_.  
  
I _snarled_ , jumping to my feet with my weapon at the ready. "Get out." I ordered.  
  
The redhead's gaze snapped to me. "W- Wha-"  
  
"I said… get OUT!"  
  
She slowly raised her hands, her weapon dropping to the ground. "You'll regret this one day." She muttered. "This was only a cell. We have allies, and they will _not_ be pleased to learn what has happened here."  
  
I grunted. "Just _leave_!" I shouted. "Before I change my mind."  
  
Her eyes narrowed, but she complied, slowly backing away for a few paces before suddenly _leaping_ to the skylight and onto the roof. I recoiled in shock and aimed my weapon upward, thinking she was about to strike. Instead, I heard her run along the roof, getting farther and farther away until the pounding disappeared entirely.  
  
I let the weapon fall to the ground, shaking as the sisters' _grief_ briefly overwhelmed me. I turned to see them just… _staring_ at what was left of their uncle, completely frozen. I wanted so bad to go over and _try_ to comfort them, but I didn't know if that was either appropriate, or… even how to do it.  
  
My mind was once again drawn to the… _other_ presence; the _almost_ Human one that I felt earlier. Without the oppressive aura of the… _monster_ interfering, I could get a better grasp on just _what_ the other presence was.  
  
It seemed like my initial hunch was correct, it… _she_ was nearly Human. And afraid; very afraid.  
  
_Deathly_ afraid.  
  
I took one last glance at the sisters, deciding they would be… _fine enough_ to let me investigate the girl. I walked back the way we entered the ship – through the room with the glowing column – and turned towards the still-shielded door to the right. I took a deep breath, pressing my hand to it and watching the shield quickly recede.  
  
Inside looked like a storage room of some kind; filled to the brim with smaller crates and even a workbench where a… gun welded to a sword sat? I shook my head; these were _aliens_ , I would likely never understand their motivations for making such a thing.  
  
On the far side of the Y-shaped room, another shielded door led to the outside; that wasn't where the _fear_ was coming from. I slowly approached a stacked section of crates, the slurry of emotions coming from the _bottommost_ one, of course.  
  
I quickly tipped the stack of crates over, then did the same for the other stack that sat atop the… _pod_. One of the crates burst open, spilling blue crystals all over the metal floor. I paid them little heed, my focus still on the pod… and its occupant.  
  
There was a control panel, but no convenient big red button this time. Instead, a three-fingered handprint sat at the center. I briefly thought about pressing my own hand to it, but quickly realized that it _certainly_ wouldn't fool whatever alien biometrics were in place; worse, it might even _kill_ her.  
  
Instead, I just… stared at the pod, not really sure what to-  
  
"W- Weiss?" Ruby said, making me jump slightly. I turned around, seeing the two sisters stand in the doorway. "What are you… doing?"  
  
"There's a person in there." I said, pointing to the casket-like pod. "Or… _person-like_ thing, at least."  
  
Yang's eyes narrowed. "And you're _sure_ it's not an alien?"  
  
I nodded. "Absolutely." I said, glancing back. "She's… afraid."  
  
"How can we help?" Ruby asked.  
  
I whipped back around. "You… want to?"  
  
"We just lost… family. A _lot_ of family." She said, her hands shaking. "If I can… if I can save someone; _anyone_ … I will."  
  
I slightly recoiled at the sheer _determination_ I felt, taking only a moment to nod to her. "We need to get this open; don't touch the controls, I don't know if it'll kill her if it gets the wrong signal."  
  
She nodded, glancing around the ship. In only a moment, she ran over to the workbench and grabbed the gun-sword, shoving it into the gap between the lid and the casket proper. She tried prying for a few moments – and even got it to budge a _little_ – but it was clear this wouldn't _fully_ work. She let go, glancing around the room once more. In a flash, she ripped a cover off a vent, putting the thin metal into the same slot as the sword. "Yang, a little help, here?"  
  
Her sister knelt down next to her, both pulling and prying with all their might. Slowly, the metal bent and twisted, a hiss of green gas escaping. Then the lid flew open, the sisters going flying. I stood back, waiting for some eldritch monstrosity to climb out of the pod, but nothing ever did.  
  
Slowly, I approached.  
  
Inside, a vaguely humanoid shape lay in a green, soupy liquid. I could feel her _panic_ reach even higher heights and without thinking, I reached down and grabbed one of the arms.  
  
As I hauled her to the surface, I noticed that the skin _felt_ like it was from a Human. Finally, her head breached; the goop rolling off her quickly to reveal…  
  
…a girl, around my age.  
  
I nearly dropped her when I realized that. Honestly, she was so human-like that she could _pass_ for Human easily; the only discrepancy being the… cat ears atop her head?  
  
She gasped, eyes flying wide open.  
  
I practically flew back in fright, _really_ regretting not bringing a weapon. She glanced around the room, eyes foggy. Suddenly, they locked onto my form, clearing in an instant.  
  
"… _Weiss_?"  
  


* * *

_On a planet far, far away…_  
/-\ Ruby Rose /-\  


* * *

  
Slowly, I approached my sister's room.  
  
I'd just woken up earlier today, and after the bombshell that Uncle Qrow had just dropped on me… I just wanted to see her again. And, of course, I wanted to make sure she was alright. I shivered just _thinking_ about what she… what she lost.  
  
My hand stopped just an inch from the handle as I heard her… _sobbing_.  
  
It was faint – so faint that only people like Blake and I would be able to hear it through the door – but… it was there. I'd heard her cry before, but… like this?  
  
She only cried like this when she thought about Raven.  
  
I… knocked, waiting a moment before turning the knob and quietly stepping into her room. "…Yang?"  
  
She just… sat there, looking out the window. I stood just inside the doorway, eyes occasionally glancing at the bandage where her… where her _arm_ used to be. After seemingly hours of just _waiting_ there, she still gave no response. Frowning, I turned around, closing the door behind me as I le- "Ruby." She said.  
  
I whipped around, blurring to her side in a flurry of rose petals and enveloping her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." I said… knowing how untrue that was.  
  
She pulled away slightly, making me release her. "…But I'm not…" She said. "It's all gone… the school, Penny, Pyrrha, and…" Her eyes flicked to her… stump.  
  
"B- But what about Weiss and Blake? They'd never-"  
  
"Weiss's father… came for her." She interrupted. "No one outside Vale knows what happened here, so he just… he took her back to Atlas."  
  
I blinked, trying to hold back the tears that I could feel building up. "…And Blake?"  
  
A tear leaked from her eyes. "I- I don't know."  
  
"W- Wha-"  
  
"Sun said she was running from someone. The way he described him, it's that _bastard_ that did _this_ to me!" She thrust her stump into my face. "She- she locked eyes with Sun, set me down while I was unconscious, and… and drew that son of a bitch away." She glanced up at me, tears flowing freely. "No one's…" She gulped. "No one's seen her since."  
  
My heart jumped into my throat. "Y- Yang… B- Blake wouldn't-"  
  
"It's been a _week_ , Ruby!" She shouted, only holding my gaze for a moment before her head drooped again. Several tears fell from her hung head, splashing on the sheets of her bed. "I… I got her killed."  
  
"Th- that isn't-"  
  
"I rushed in without thinking and got my arm cut off!" She shouted, blazing red eyes glaring at me. "Then she had to cover for me… a- and she couldn't get away. I… I… got my best friend… _killed_."  
  
I could only look at her for a moment, my own tears flowing free. I lurched forward, enveloping her in a hug as we cried together. I don't know how long we sat there, but when I pulled away next… two breakfast trays were sitting on her end table, cold to the touch.  
  
I… didn't feel like touching them…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I can feel the pitchforks already.
> 
> Not much else to say other than that, so… see ya next time in "Exiles".


	4. Settle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… yeah… last chapter was about as well-received as I thought it'd be. Surprisingly, one person said they liked it (one more than I thought there'd be), but yeah. Suffice to say, while this chapter won't exactly be a ray of sunshine, nobody dies in it. Small mercies in the XCOM fandom, right?

Chapter Three

Settle

* * *

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

* * *

My legs pumped and my chest heaved as I ran amongst the burning buildings, my partner slung over my shoulder. I sprinted as fast as I could, but _Adam_ just kept getting closer and closer. I gasped as he appeared before me, his sword leaving his sheath and piercing my-

My legs pumped and my chest heaved as I ran amongst the burning buildings, my partner slung over my shoulder. I sprinted as fast as I could, but _Adam_ just kept getting closer and closer. I gasped as he appeared before me, his sword leaving his sheath and piercing my-

My legs pumped and my chest heaved as I ran amongst the burning buildings, my partner slung over my shoulder. I sprinted as fast as I could, but _Adam_ just-

I froze, choking as I felt… _liquid_ fill my lungs.

Metal rent around me… since _when_ was I in a cage?

 _Something_ gripped my arm, pulling me forwards through the hazy and underwater campus. I fought back, but _nothing_ I did changed anything. I opened my mouth to scream, but instead of words, only green goop spewed forth.

Slowly, the scene before me morphed. The burning buildings of Beacon faded away, the concrete becoming metal as the fires became lights. I whipped my head around, now noticing I was _sitting down_ instead of running.

Two blurry figures stood off to the side, partially blocking out the glittering of crystals as they laid on the floor where their container had dumped them. The frigid air rolled against my wet and bare skin, almost instantly giving me goosebumps. My Faunus ears heard the faint sound of someone's breath hitching, my eyes instantly zooming in on the fig-

"… _Weiss_?" I let out, recognizing my teammate's face even through the obscurity of the green goo. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear it.

When I opened them next, I found myself at swordpoint… specifically, from _Gambol Shroud_. "Who are you, _what_ are you, and how in the _hell_ do you know my name?"

I just… _stared_ at her. "…Is this a joke?" I asked, her glare only hardening. "Weiss, be serious, where are we and what happened to Beacon? Did… did Yang and Ruby-"

"And you know their names, too!" She shouted, pressing _my_ weapon ever closer. "Who _are_ you?!"

I blinked. "Weiss, we spent the last year at school together, of course I know my own teammates' names!"

She studied me for a moment before the sword drooped an inch in her grip. "…How are you telling the truth…" She muttered. "I would've _remembered_ going to school with someone like you. Those… _appendages_ atop your head would make you hard to forget."

"This conversation is making less and less sense by the minute; you found out I was a Faunus half-a-year ago!"

Weiss groaned. "And there you go telling the truth again…" Her eyes flicked to the side for a moment. "Am _I_ the crazy one here? Do either of you two remember her?"

"Nuh-uh." / "Not a chance." Two _very_ familiar voices said, in unison.

My head whipped to face their sources and I gasped. "Ruby… Yang… wait, you how did you get your _arm_ back?!"

She flinched. "My arm?"

Without thinking, I traced the wou- _scar_ on my abdomen, surprising myself that it had healed that quickly. "Y- Yeah…" I let out. "Remember? Adam… Adam _took_ it when you tried to save me."

She looked down at both her arms. "Yeah, I'm _pretty_ sure I'd remember that."

"Guys, I just realized something." Ruby said. "There might be more of those… _things_ running around, don't you think we should… _go_?"

"Agreed." Weiss said, turning back to me. "We can fill in the blanks later; for now, who are you and do you intend on hurting us?"

My eyes shot wide open. "W- what? No, I would never-"

"Good, now who are you?"

I stared at her for a moment. "…Blake." I said. "I'm your teammate, Blake."

"Well, Blake, get out of that pod and put something on; it's cold outside and I don't want you dying before I get some answers." She finally withdrew her – my – blade, though she still stood a fair distance away.

Suddenly, I processed her words. "Wait, what happened to my _clothes_?" I asked, blushing as I instinctively crossed my arms over my chest – only currently hidden by a wet bra.

"Uhh, here; this'll do for now." Ruby said, removing her cloak and tossing it to me. I caught it, nodding in thanks and throwing it on as I stepped out of the pod. Green goop still rolled off me as my bare foot hit the cold metal floor. I gave a slight shiver before activating my aura, the warmth of my soul chasing away the chill.

"Thanks." I said. "So… where even _are_ we?"

"A UFO." Weiss said, not a hint of humor in her voice.

I knew better than to question _that_ tone, so I just followed them as we moved into an adjacent room. I could see the outside through a doorway, the frame half-melted in places. "Wait…" Ruby said. "If there might be more of those… _things_ out there, why don't we take those weapons that Pyrrha's people had? They looked like they did more damage to that… that _thing_ than our guns did."

"R- Ruby…" Yang stuttered. " _Qrow's_ in there."

She nodded slowly. "…He'd want us to be as safe as we could be."

Yang sighed, taking the leftmost doorway instead of the one that lead outside. "…Yeah… he would…"

I heard Weiss retch as we entered the room, and I couldn't exactly blame her either. The scene before us… well, it looked like an average Grimm attack on unarmed civilians. Grizzly, to say the least. The sisters paused at the corpse of a man I thought looked familiar, somehow, before moving on. In the corner sat an opened cage; one stamped with Beacon's logo.

I tensed for a moment, but realized that they must've already dealt with any Grimm in the area; with all the negativity surrounding them, there was _absolutely_ no way they'd be left alone like this. I blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Where are your weapons?" I asked, not seeing any them laying around. They just looked at me strangely. "Y'know… Crescent Rose? Ember Celica? Myrtenaster?" More blank looks. "Weiss has mine, where are yours?"

After a moment, Ruby lifted an old-looking rifle, a rose burned into its stock. "Do you mean _Glistening_ Rose?"

I shook my head. "No, _Crescent_ Rose. It's… a big sniper combined with a scythe."

Her brow scrunched in confusion before her eyes wandered to the familiar man on the floor. "Just… forget it." She said, picking up a long rifle and heading to the door.

Yang joined her a moment later, cradling something that looked like a machinegun. Weiss, meanwhile, took two normal sized rifles, strapping one to her back. "You said this… _thing_ was yours?" She asked, holding up Gambol Shroud. I nodded. She stared at me for a moment before holding out my weapon for me to take. " _Don't_ make me regret arming you."

I took it. "You won't." I said. "I'm still wondering why none of you remember me… and why Ruby only has one set of ears, suddenly."

Weiss blinked, but quickly shook her head. "Well, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can all have our questions answered." She said, motioning me forward with the barrel of her new rifle. "After you."

Nodding, I followed the sisters. 'This is so… _surreal_.' I thought. 'It's like they're all just… _strangers_ walking around in my teammates' skins…' I pinched myself as we walked, just making _doubly_ sure that this was not, in fact, a dream. In hindsight, the sensations I've been feeling should've confirmed that beforehand, but I had to be sure.

My Faunus eyes easily adjusted to the night, giving me almost perfect – if monochromatic – vision. They led me through the unfamiliar forest, the various fallen sticks scraping against my aura as I walked. I frowned in mild discomfort; sure, I wish I had shoes for this sort of thing, but it was _hardly_ the worst pain I'd encountered in my career as a huntress.

Soon enough, the shattered front façade of a house became visible through the trees. "What happened here?" I asked.

Weiss sighed. "That's… a very good question. Care to explain for those of us who weren't conscious at the time?"

Yang glanced back. "I… I fucked up." She said. "Long story short, I ran off thinking I c-"

" _Please_ … just tell me the actual story." Weiss interrupted. "For now, we need facts. We can wallow in misery later."

"Fine." She said. "I got here, blasted my way through the house, met up with Ruby, saved you, then we-"

"Wait, what?" She asked as we approached the broken remains of the doorway. "You saved me?"

Ruby nodded. "The aliens were taking you away… kinda like that guy wanted to do."

"…I see…" Weiss said, striding inside. "I… need to gather some things. Blake, you should find… _something_ that fits you in mother's bedroom; go upstairs, take a left, and it will be the third door to the left."

I nodded in thanks, following her inside and heading up the shattered staircase – giving the… _creature_ in the foyer a wide berth. Splitting off from her, I entered her mother's room and headed for the closet. It was as just big as I'd expected… and filled with clothes that were probably more expensive than some _buildings_ back at Beacon.

I paused for a moment, remembering my school. I shook my head, getting back to my task.

Most of the clothes were either blue or white; neither of which were really my color beside the accents I usually wore. I chose the least-expensive outfit I could find; a thin white undershirt, blue skirt and matching vest with black heeled boots. I wasn't overly enthused about potentially fighting in a skirt, but I'd rather fight in that than do so virtually naked. Despite old habits telling me to pack away the possibly _millions_ of Lien's worth of jewelry in that closet, I walked out with none.

Just as I turned towards the stairs, Weiss exited one of the other rooms; the one with more – but smaller – creatures in front of it. She wiped away a tear, sniffling as she descended towards the main floor.

Only a few places behind her, I joined the others while she ran off to other parts of the manor. Ruby sat on the broken windowsill, one leg swinging back and forth as she stared out into the darkness. Her sister, meanwhile, stood next to her, arms crossed as she just… stared at one of the two headless corpses laying on the floor.

She looked over at me. "Are we ready or-"

Suddenly, Weiss screamed.

In a flash, I ran towards her, Yang hot on my heels. I skidded to a stop when I saw Weiss standing over the body of a man, her hands cupped over her mouth.

"…Oh." Yang let out. "He… was like that when we got here. I'm… sorry."

Weiss let out a slow, shuddering breath before lowering her hands. "I just…" She sighed. "I just wish nobody else had to die…" Head lowered, she picked up the duffel bag at her feet and headed out the door.

"Wait where are you going?" Ruby asked, jogging after her. "Isn't there a little kid upstairs?" Not knowing what else to do, I followed them outside.

"They were after _me_! If I stay here, they'll just take Winter too!" Weiss snapped. "I would love nothing more than to stay with my infant sister and watch her grow up, but I can't because those… those _people_ will just come for me; not to mention the aliens you said were taking me away as well." She sighed. "Klein will be back in a few hours and the authorities will be here before that. She'll be fine until then."

Ruby and Weiss just stared at each other for a moment. "…But where are _you_ gonna go?" Ruby asked.

Weiss's gaze trailed to the ground. "…I don't know."

She nodded to me. "And what about you?"

I frowned. "I'm still trying to figure out why none of you remember me."

"Because _none_ of us have ever even met you." Weiss said. "Nor have any of us even heard of people with cat ears atop their heads."

Ruby raised her hand. "I mean… there's Nekos, but they're kinda not real. Or _weren't_ real, I guess…" She shook her head. "Whatever… you guys don't have places to sleep anymore, right?" We both shook our heads. "Well…" She sighed. "We've got some… spare bedrooms now, I guess…"

Weiss's face softened. "…Right…" She let out.

She glanced back inside. "Yang! We're heading home!" She shouted before turning towards the woods. "Follow me…" She said. I did so immediately, Weiss right behind.

As we neared the edge of the woods, my ears flicked to the side, hearing something off in the distance. I turned towards it. "Something's coming." I said, focusing. "It sounds… mechani-" I cut off when Weiss _bumped_ into me. I gave her an unimpressed look, refocusing on the source.

Something _gasped_ from the woods, the crunching of leaves increasing dramatically. Within moments, the others turned their attention to it t-

"Sisters?!"

I'd only heard the voice once or twice, but I still recognized it immediately. "Wait, Penny's _alive_?" I said, moments before a… _robot dog thing_ jumped into view, trotting up to Ruby with Yang running past me to meet it.

"Oh, it is so good to see you two unharmed! I was so worried when you did not return after I had fled the Schnee residence!"

"…It can talk?" Weiss let out.

Ruby glared at her. "She can do a lot more than talk…" She said, sighing. "Well, at least _someone_ made it…"

"Sister!Ruby? What do you mean by that comment?" The robot asked. "I detect no traces of Father!Taiyang nor Uncle!Qrow… sisters, where are they?"

Yang frowned. "Penny, they're…" She sighed. "They're gone."

The robot stood silent for a moment. "Marking… additional family members as deceased." She said.

Ruby's eyes glistened in the moonlight as they watered. "Let's… let's just go home." She said, continuing on.

The little robot trotted alongside me. "I do not recognize you from my databanks, Miss. I am Penny Xiao Long, who are you?"

"Blake."

"It is… nice to meet you, Blake, circumstances notwithstanding." She said before dropping back to Weiss. "And what about you, Miss…?"

"Schnee." She said. "Weiss Schnee, ex-heiress to the Schnee Automotive Company."

My head whipped back. " _Automotive_ company? And since when are you the _ex-_ heiress?"

"Ever since my brother started displaying an _extreme_ talent for bootlicking." She rolled her eyes. "That, and I'm sure the family _condition_ had a factor in it."

"Condition? You mean that… empathy thing you were talking about?" Ruby asked.

She huffed. "They both lack that too, but I'm referring to the fact that I am an empath."

"Since _when_?" I asked, getting more and more confused by the second.

"As long as I can remember." She said. "And you still have quite a few questions to answer, yourself."

"She can when we get to the house." Ruby said as we approached the edge of a dry riverbed, two ATVs sitting motionless inside. "It'll be kinda hard to hear over these things."

She hopped on one while her sister and I took the other. Meanwhile, Weiss seemed a little apprehensive. "So… how do I do this?" She asked.

"Just hang on and lean with me." Ruby said.

"Right…" She said, slowly mounting the seat and tightly wrapping her arms around Ruby's waist. "R- Ready, I suppOSE!" She yelped as Ruby suddenly hit the gas, rocketing off into the darkness as Penny followed behind her. Yang hit the headlights on our vehicle a moment later and we joined them. Having ridden on Yang's motorbike before, I knew what I was in for…

…except I wasn't.

My partner was driving almost _sanely_. Instead of whipping around corners at forty plus and just generally driving like she was in a video game, she… _slowed down_. Getting off at our destination, I was almost as shocked as I was when I first rode with her, albeit for _wildly_ different reasons.

'Then again, if my parents died like hers did…' I thought, shuddering.

"Hey, you coming?" Yang asked.

I shook my head, muttering an apology before following her to the house; that was _another_ thing that didn't add up. During our time at Beacon together, Yang and Ruby had been all too eager to show Weiss and I pictures of their home on Patch. Sure, Weiss's house didn't look the same either, but hers could at least be written off as a vacation home or something; the Schnees were _certainly_ rich enough to afford one.

This house, though? Sure, it was in the middle of nowhere, but that was the _only_ thing that matched. What was supposed to be a square-shaped log cabin turned out to be a lot more T-shaped, a large garage being attached to the main certainly-not-a-log-cabin house. And worse, it looked _lived in_ with various things scattered about the yard – they _definitely_ couldn't've recently moved in.

The sisters led us in through the deck. "Are… you guys hungry or anything?" Ruby asked as she kicked off her boots.

"No." / "Not really." Weiss and I responded, doing the same.

"Well, we still need to talk about how Blake knows us, so… Penny, how's about you get everyone a water or something."

"I shall return in a moment." The robot said before trotting off down the hallway. It was… weird hearing that voice again, especially after I'd seen it's owner get _ripped limb from limb_ only a few hours ago.

Wait, _was_ it only a few hours ago? How much time passed while I was in that pod?

Shaking my head, I followed the others through the hallway. The difference between this house and Weiss's was night and day – even discounting the devastation. While hers had been sparsely decorated – if at all – the Xiao Long-Rose house felt… alive.

Family portraits dotted the walls along with signs, drawings, weird mechanical widgets, and the odd dent; all with the wall itself painted in a warm red. Ruby and Yang continued on to the kitchen-slash-dining room, taking their seats; Weiss and I joined them.

We all sat still for a minute, not quite sure what to do. Yang seemed to stare off into space while Ruby occupied herself with examining the weird weapon she picked up. Weiss, meanwhile, wouldn't take her eyes off me.

Finally, Penny returned, setting a tray with four glasses of water on the table. None of us moved to grab one. "So." Weiss started, finally. "How do you know us?"

I frowned. "Like I said; we're teammates. Have been for about a year, actually."

She sighed. "And there you go telling the truth again…" She said. "Well, either you're _really_ good at lying – _inhumanly_ good – or there's a _giant_ piece of the puzzle we're missing." She crossed her arms. "So, I want you to tell us how we all met; start at the beginning and go until we woke you up from that pod."

"At… the beginning?" I asked, receiving a nod. "I mean, there's an entire year's worth of stuff here, are you sure?"

She hummed. "Alright, fair enough, I guess just start with the last day you saw us."

"Much better. Just… stop me when you guys start remembering, okay?"

"Got it." She said, finally grabbing one of the waters and sipping at it.

"Okay, well… I guess it started with Yang getting disqualified from the tournament…"

* * *

Over an hour later, I was finally wrapping up my story. Penny had sent her robot body to go charge, but was apparently still listening through the house's microphones.

"And then…" I sighed. "And then Yang jumped through the window. Adam cut off your arm and knocked you out." Yang just... _stared_ at me. "I… I barely managed to get away, carrying you over my shoulder. I ran and I ran, but I could hear him right on my tail. I found Sun, gave you to him, and then drew Adam away." I frowned. "After that… all I remember are a couple green lights. Then I woke up with Weiss pointing Gambol Shroud at my face and… you know the rest. Any umm… questions?"

"Oh, hundreds." Weiss said. "But honestly… I think I need time to process… all of this."

"…I think all of us do…" Ruby said.

"I shall keep watch over the house while you four rest." Penny said over the house's speakers. "If any intruders come, I shall wake you."

"Thanks Penny." Yang said, getting up from her chair. "But… there's one thing I need to ask you, Blake." I nodded, motioning for her to ask. "Do you… honestly believe that happened?"

"Huh?" I muttered.

"You've got superheroes, demon monsters, hell, even _us_ in that story!" She shouted. "Why would you think we'd buy it for even a seco-"

"She's telling the truth." Weiss interrupted. "That's another perk of being an empath… people feel certain emotions when they lie, and I can pick that up."

"And how do you know she feels _anything_ like a person?"

A _knife_ felt like it just shot through my chest as I looked at my partner. Despite her eyes lacking the flash of red they normally did when she was angry, they still held just as much _fury_. "Y- Yang…" I muttered, eyes watering.

Weiss flinched. "Well, she certainly feels _pain_ , thank you very much." My partner only spared me a glance. "Look, there are so, _so_ many things that don't add up with her story, but as far as I can tell, she believes _every_ word of it."

"Well, excuuuuuse me if I don't trust the word of someone I've never met before!"

"Guys!" Ruby shouted. "Just…" She sighed. "We're all exhausted. Let's just all go to bed; I think we'll be better off if we all just… if we just have some time to ourselves."

Yang crossed her arms. "Fine." She said, storming down the hallway.

Ruby sighed again. "Sorry about her… she's just…" She trailed off.

"I'm the _last_ person you need to explain this to." Weiss said. "But you're right. Can you show us where we'll be sleeping?"

She nodded. "Follow me." She led us downstairs into a large open room. The part nearer to the stairs held a pool table, various board game boxes stacked atop it. Beyond that laid a TV area, a large sectional and beanbag chairs sitting opposite a humungous television. She stopped in front of two doors. "One's the guest bedroom. The other's…" She sighed. "The other's my Uncle's." She turned around, marching back upstairs. "Take whichever one you want."

I glanced at Weiss as our hooded teammate slowly ascended the stairs, completely lacking the energy she usually had. I sighed. "It's just… _weird_ seeing her like that…"

"From what little I've seen of her, I agree." She said. "Well, goodnight, I suppose."

I nodded halfheartedly. "Yeah… goodnight." I said, stepping into my room as she stepped into hers. Inside was a bit messy, but I'd certainly heard of worse… there was still a path around the tower of pizza boxes and dirty laundry, after all.

Surprisingly, the bed was fairly clean, only needing a brush of my hand to clear. I did roll my eyes at the pin-up calendar, though. I sat down on the bed, my mind _desperately_ trying to figure out just _why_ my own teammates – the best friends I've _ever_ had – didn't remember me _at all_.

I just sat there, staring at my lap in the darkness as I went through scenario after scenario; a satisfactory answer eluding me constantly and consistently… just like the answer to the question of where in the _Brothers_ ' names Ruby's wolf ears went.

The others still _looked_ mostly the same, so not much time could've passed… right? I thought on that for a moment before realizing it would explain a _lot_ if it's been _years_ since Beacon. But they wouldn't forget me… right?

I took a calming breath, trying to push back the thought that they _would_. I thought of the time when Yang helped me through my White Fang obsession; of the time when Ruby convinced me to out myself to the team and Weiss accepting me; of all the times we shared as a _team_.

Finally, I managed to convince myself they wouldn't forget me, but I still had no idea how much time passed while I was in that pod. I couldn't just _ask_ them; they were all probably asleep by now. At that moment, I noticed the moonlight streaming in through the egress window.

I got up, trying to remember which phase it was on during… the end. It wouldn't give me an even remotely precise idea of how much time passed, but it would tell me if it did… probably. Before I could remember, my eyes fell upon the moon.

The small, dark, and _whole_ moon.

I rubbed my eyes, refocusing on the object, but it hadn't changed. I just… stood there for a minute, staring at it. "How… the hell?" I muttered.

Suddenly, the plot of one of my books sprang to mind. The protagonist went to bed one night and found himself in another world surrounded by his friends, though they didn't remember him. As the book went on, it was revealed that he had _somehow_ transcended dimensions and found his friends' evil twins.

My heart quickened as the realization crossed my mind. I looked around the room for _anything_ to help me prove I was still on Remna-

My eyes fell to the desk in the corner, a laptop sitting closed under some loose papers. I practically jumped into the chair, flinging the papers onto the floor and opening up the old-timey laptop. Thankfully, it didn't need a password and was already open to a browser… which I didn't recognize the layout of.

I typed into the searchbox 'Beacon Academy', furrowing my brow when it came up with a random school in a town called Crowborough as the first result. I scrolled and scrolled, but there was no mention of the huntsman academy I was looking for. I changed it to 'map of Remnant', and the only thing it gave me were references to a new game map released called 'Remnant'. My heart beating ever faster, I changed my search to 'map of the world.'

I recognized _nothing_ of what came up.

There were _hundreds_ of kingdoms shown on the _thousands_ of maps that came up. Some showed the whole picture, some zoomed in to focus on a specific area, some were in a different shape, some showed the geography instead of the political map, some showed weather patterns, ocean currents, migration maps, _everything imaginable_.

I sat there, frozen, as I realized there was _too much here_ to just… write it off as some fictional place.

My hands shook as I realized just how _very_ far from home I was…

* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I turned the screw one more time, freeing the rest of the weapon's circuitry from its housing. I quickly set it down on the last free space of my anti-static mat, pulling out _another_ fresh sheet of paper to trace the almost incomprehensively complex circuit board.

"Sister!Ruby?"

I got to work, first noting the areas where this last board connected to the other five. I started tracing the myriad of wires, capacitors, chips, resistors, and things that I couldn't identify. My left hand was practically black already with how much I'd already writte-

"Sister!Ruby?"

…already written. But the end was in sight. If I could just finish this thing, I could… I frowned. 'I could…' I drew a blank, rubbing my ey-

"Sister!Ruby?"

"What?!" I shouted, whipping towards my room's speaker.

Penny was silent for a moment. "…Acquaintance!Blake would like to see you." She said. "Also… it is… unhealthy to stay up until after dawn like this. Please consider-"

"Where is she?" I interrupted.

"…Downstairs in Uncle!Qrow's… former room."

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Fine. Tell her I'll be right there."

"Affirmative." She said. "Afterwards, though, please consider taking a na-"

"Not tired." I yawned.

"…Very well."

I picked up my mug, pressing it to my lips and tilting it back… only for nothing to come out. I groaned, getting up and heading towards the kitchen for more coffee. My eyes glanced over to the blonde and unkempt mane of my sister as I entered. She sulked in her chair; one hand propped up her head while the other brought a bottle of vodka to her lips. After a long gulp, she slammed it back down next to an open bottle of Tylenol.

My heart sank even further when I saw her like this. She was taking it even harder than when mom… disappeared. At least then she _tried_ to keep a brave face… and only drank when she was in her room. My eyes flicked down to her side; the place where her still-bloodstained shirt parted to reveal some sloppily applied gauze.

I… slowly reached out to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. She initially flinched, but slowly rested her head on my hand, the entire appendage becoming lost in the sea of gold that was my sister's hair. She whimpered, whispering something I couldn't hear as my hand suddenly became wet.

"W- what?" I asked.

She lifted her head, turning around to face me as she knocked over the half-full bottle. Her eyes were puffy and watery as her mouth worked silently. "I…" She finally started. "I fucked up."

I opened my mouth to retort, but… I couldn't. Instead, my eyes once again trailed down to her wound. "…And I shot you…"

"I deserve it." She said. "I got Jaune and Ren and Nora and Qrow and Dad all… _killed_."

"…Yang…"

"I'm a _murderer_ , Ruby!"

"…You're not the one who shot him." I said.

"But if I just… if I just stopped and _thought_ about things for _two seconds_ , then I wouldn't've-"

"Yang. Just… just stop." I said. "We'll… we'll…" I sighed, turning around. "Blake wants to talk to me. I'll… I'll see you later." I quickly refilled my mug and headed downstairs before waking to Qrow's… _Blake's_ door and knocking.

A few moments later, I was greeted with the _tired_ looking face of our guest. "…Hey." She said, stepping out of the room and rubbing her eyes.

"Couldn't sleep either?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not after I realized I was on a completely different planet." She said. After a moment, she stiffened. "I- I mean uhh…" She sighed. "Well, I guess that cat's outta the bag…"

I facepalmed. "Blake, it was _blatantly_ obvious that you were an alien the moment we saw you."

She blinked slowly, the bags under her eyes becoming even more pronounced. "…And you didn't think to tell me this? How did you know?"

"I thought you knew." I said. "And, well, the cat ears."

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "My… ears?" She let out. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open. "Wait, are Faunus not… a thing here?"

I shrugged. "I don't even know what that is."

She just… _stared_ at me for a few moments. When she finally did move, she slowly stumbled to the couch, plopping herself down. "Gods… how much else is different here?" She asked. "I mean… having an entire race of people just… not exist? Are they replaced with lizard people or something?"

I shook my head. "Umm, nope. Just… Humans. Well, at least until the aliens came."

She cringed. "Right… those dead things at Weiss's house last night." She sighed. "Well, at least I figured out why you all don't remember me."

"…Because we've never met you?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, actually. It turns out you're probably just… interplanetary twins of my teammates or… something." She groaned. "Gods, that sounds even weirder than it did in my head. I mean, what are the chances of this even happening?"

I stared at her for a moment. "…Interplanetary… twins."

"Like I said… weird." She glanced away for a moment, yawning. "But, well, I can certainly say you're not _evil_ twins; you wouldn't've taken in a stranger you found in a spaceship if you were. So… I dunno… I guess I owe you a favor or two; not that I have much to repay you with..."

"Umm… okay." I said. "Is there… anything else you needed?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. I just wanted to let you know that I figured it out." She shrugged. "…And I guess I should probably ask if you guys want me out of your hair."

"But where would you go, though?"

She shrugged. "I'd… figure something out. This wouldn't be my first time in the woods with just the clothes on my back."

"Winter is coming, though. Sure, it's still kinda warm-ish now in September, but even next month it'll freeze most nights. If it's a cold year, it might not even get above freezing all of December and January, either."

"I just don't wanna be a burden is all. I mean, you already lost your…" She trailed off. "…Sorry."

I sighed. "It's…" 'Not fine…' "…not your fault."

Her ears folded down against her head as she looked away. "Still…"

"There's… a lot we need to figure out, still…" I opened my mouth to say something else, but I was interrupted by a loud stomach grumbling.

Blake clutched her stomach, her face flushing as she smiled a little too wide. "Umm… sor-"

My own stomach grumbled as well, interrupting her. I let out a nervous chuckle. "Well… ummm… breakfast first?"

She nodded. "Here, let me help; it's the least I could do."

I opened my mouth to object, but… I sighed. "Sure, whatever." I said, turning away and leading her upstairs...

* * *

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

* * *

I picked at my scrambled eggs, my fork clanking against the plate as I twirled it around. The others weren't doing much better: Ruby cut a sliver of sausage before staring at it, Weiss slowly chewed a half-bite of hashbrowns, and Yang paid more attention to her bottle than the food in front of her.

"I… guess we should start talking now." Ruby started, gaining all of our attention. "So what… what are we gonna do?"

"Jump state and join the army under assumed names." Yang said, taking another swig of her drink.

"…Are you serious?" I asked, genuinely unable to tell.

"No." Weiss answered for her.

She burped. "I've… been thinking about this all night." She said. "I make minimum wage at the godda- _goshdarn_ grocery store and Ruby doesn't have a job yet." She sighed. "And I know Ruby's noticed Dad's been spending a _lot_ less since Mom… since mom. I don't think whatever's left in the account will be enough to put us through college or anything, and you two… well… you're both new here, so I doubt you've got jobs either… if you even stayed long enough to help us."

"I honestly don't know what I'm going to do." Weiss said, with me agreeing a moment later. "That said, I can tell you that no judge in the right mind will emancipate you if _that's_ your financial situation." She frowned. "Do you have any family _at all_ who might take you in?"

Yang growled, her hand balling into a fist. "No one worth mentioning." She said through gritted teeth.

Weiss grimaced. "I don't have to be an empath to tell there's bad blood there, but… I've got some bad news." She took a deep breath. "From a legal standpoint, you'd probably be sent to them even if they-"

"She should be in prison!"

"Is she your _only_ living relative?" Weiss shot back. "Because believe me, I've looked into trying to get away from a parent who _really_ should be in prison, but without a conviction, the legal system will keep you in the same hell I've been in for my whole life."

Ruby shakily placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I don't like it either, but… Raven might be our only option here."

She huffed. "And how are we even gonna get there? Last I heard, she lives way down in New Mexico. It's not like we can just buy plane tickets with all the airlines grounded from the invasion."

"We could throw a bed and a charging station for Penny onto the old van. Dad had it fixed up for our Thanksgiving road… trip." Her eyes trailed back down to the table. "…We're never going on one of those again, are we?"

"Guess not…" Yang said, taking a big long gulp from her bottle. She slammed it back down on the table. "Still, I don't really feel like driving a thousand-odd miles – especially not to see _her_ – and you don't even have your permit yet."

"Perhaps… I could be of assistance?" Weiss asked. "I mean, I have my license, and frankly, I'd rather be as far away from here as possible."

I shrugged. "And while I don't have a license, I've driven long distance before. Just as long as Earth vehicles aren't too different from Remnan ones, I should be fine." I rubbed the back of my head. "And then I could be out of your hair… if you wanted."

"And I could be as well." Weiss said.

"I still don't like it…" Yang said.

"And I don't really see any other choice." Ruby said. "I mean, it's only for a few years while at least one of us gets through college, right?"

"And you _do_ remember the last time we saw her, right?"

She grimaced. "…Forgot about that…" She muttered. "Well, we don't have to go _straight_ there, do we?"

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"I mean… we'd always go tour a bunch of national parks when we went on road trips before, so… maybe…"

"But we'd still be going to live with _her_." She shot back. "And that assumes she even _lets_ us stay."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Yang opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, her bottle went in as she took another big gulp of alcohol. "Fine." She said, standing up. "But I'm gonna try and think of something else while you get the van ready and if I think of _anything_ better, we'll go with that."

"Sounds… alright, I guess." Ruby sighed as her sister walked away. "So… does anyone here know how to wire solar panels to the roof of a van?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, my roundabout way of getting the plot off its ass. Some things are morally dubious at best and some plain bad ideas thrown in there for good measure. But there really isn't a good solution to the situation everyone's in.
> 
> Well, that's about it for this chapter. See y'all next time in "A Thousand Miles To Insanity"!


	5. A Thousand Miles To Insanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? I managed to get a chapter out in an orderly fashion? It's a Christmas miracle!

Chapter Four

A Thousand Miles To Insanity

* * *

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\

* * *

I cinched my last bag tight and tied it to my backpack. Throwing it over my shoulder, I stepped outside, my Faunus ears already telling me that the others were waiting for me. They all wore grim faces as I shut the door behind me.

"Hey." A voice said.

"…Hey Jaune." I returned, approaching him. "Haven's a long way to go…"

He nodded. "I know. But… it's the only lead we have."

"And you're sure you wanna go?"

"The journey will be perilous." Ren said. "And whether we find answers at the end is entirely uncertain."

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora said.

My ear flicked to the side, hearing the soft creak of the door opening then closing. I glanced backwards. "And you're sure too? You know we wouldn't blame you if you stayed behind."

Yang took a steadying breath, running her sole remaining hand through her golden hair. "I already lost my partner; I'm not losing my sister, too."

I nodded. "Then let's get started…" I said, turning away from the house and walking down the snow-covered path. Only a few steps in and we were dive-bombed by a giant crow, its incessant cawing making me cup my ears in pain.

I groaned; hopefully this wasn't a sign of things to come…

* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I thrust the two bare wires into the wire nut, twisting them together and sealing them away in the box. I then stepped outside the van, tearing the tarp off the solar panels and rushed back inside to the meter I had installed. Grinning, I saw the amperage climb to about fifty percent of the panel's theoretical maximum; about what I'd calculated we'd reach with this setup. I slumped down onto the shag carpet, relieved.

Metal feet clanked on the driveway, the back end of the van dipping ever so slightly a moment later. "Is it finished, Sister!Ruby?" Penny asked, trotting up to me.

I gave her bot's torso a little scratch. "Yeah… yeah it's done." I said.

"Very well, I shall notify the others." She said as the bot laid down. "Sister, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

She stayed silent for a moment; just long enough to make me wonder if she heard me. "What is… what will happen to our home in our absence?"

I frowned. "I… I don't really know, Penny."

"…Affirmative." She said.

Resting my eyes for a minute, my thoughts started to wander; what _would_ happen while we were gone? Did the house legally belong to us now? Would someone assume it was abandoned – which it would be, technically – and just demolish it? Would it be looted? I shook my head; the people of Patch wouldn't do that. Even if some would, the cops would make sure to check on the place every now and aga-

My eyes shot wide open. "…The cops…"

"Sister?"

"Penny, tell the others to hurry up; we're leaving as soon as possible!"

"Affirmative, but might I ask why?"

"I just realized the cops will probably check up on us. I don't know what they'll do if they find a bunch of kids living without an adult – or _Blake_ being with us."

She sat still for a moment. "Acknowledged. Possibility exists for governmental intervention to seize Acquaintance!Blake; possibility exists of dissection, torture, or interrogation afterwards."

"What do you still need to leave here safely?" I asked.

"Currently transferring files via four parallel gigabit ethernet cables to mobile hardware, completion estimated at thirteen-point-six minutes. No other hardware or software is required beyond the mobile unit."

"Good; I'll go grab my stuff and help the others!" I said, practically leaping out of the van and running for the house.

Twenty minutes later, the last door was shut, and the last bit of supplies were secured under the tent-like solar panels. I sat atop the mattress in the back, watching as the grove our home sat in receded further and further into the distance.

I could just barely make out a police SUV turn into our driveway before we rounded a corner on the highway…

* * *

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

* * *

I stepped out of the van, stretching my arms and legs as I let out a groan. I had to stop my hand from pulling away the beanie the girls had leant me, knowing that a gas station was probably one of the _worst_ places in the world to air out my ears.

Weiss stepped out behind me, stretching as well before handing me a duffle bag. "Follow me." She said. "And make sure your sword is visible." I raised an eyebrow, but complied, pulling Gambol's hilt out of the sweater Yang leant me and followed her inside. She strode up to the counter, the cashier's attention squarely on his scroll. "Ehem."

His eyes darted upwards. "Ah, so sorry ma'am, didn't hear you come i-" His breath hitched. "U- umm… I- I should inform you that we- that we don't all- allow weapons on th- the premises, ma'am." He stuttered, eyes locked just above and behind my head.

I crossed my arms. "We won't be long." I said.

"Exactly." Weiss said. "Can you tell me if you have an ATM?"

"U- Uhh-"

"Answer the question, please."

"O- Over there!" He shouted, pointing to a corner of the store.

Weiss nodded. "Thank you." She said, leading me to the white metal box. She inserted a plastic card, typing in a few numbers while motioning for me to set the duffel bag on the floor.

The machine practically started _venting_ money in large wads, every time Weiss and I took one, it'd be instantly replenished by another stack of green paper. "Gods, how much did you take?" I muttered, the bag already a quarter full.

"As much as it would let me." She said. Finally, when the bag was three-quarters full, the machine stopped giving us money. We stood up and headed to the door, Weiss sparing one more glance to the cashier, who was on the phone and looking panicked. "For your information, that was an entirely legal transaction."

I rolled my eyes, heading out the door. As soon as it shut, I glanced at her. "Could you be any more suspicious?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that not how most people withdraw large quantities of money?"

"Most people don't _have_ large quantities to withdraw, and _why_ did you want my weapon visible?" I asked. "Also, _was_ that actually a legal transaction?"

"Dear _Father_ apparently hadn't cancelled my card yet, so yes, it was legal." She shrugged. "I simply did not want anyone getting any ideas about taking the money-laden duffel bag from a pair of teenage girls."

"You know I probably wouldn't need my weapon for people like _that_ , right?"

"Better to avoid these problems before they happen."

I hummed in agreement as we approached the van, Yang standing next to the open door fueling it while Ruby ran laps around the pumps. "Should we be worried?" I asked her.

Yang shrugged. "She's always been a bit hyper; three hours in a car'll do that to her."

"Well, the police may or may not be on the way right now, so I suggest we hurry up." Weiss said.

Yang did a double-take. "What? Why would-" I unzipped the duffle bag slightly. "Oh." She let out. "Did you actually rob a-"

"No." Weiss interrupted. "I withdrew it from my own account out of an ATM, thank you very much."

"Alright, well, it's your turn to drive." She said. "Maybe take the backroads for a bit, just in case."

"And where would those be?"

She shrugged. "Penny'll tell ya." She said, stowing the nozzle and shutting the gas tank cover.

"Very well." Weiss said, walking around to the driver's side.

We all piled in once again, taking off down a nearby gravel road instead of the highway we'd come here on. After half-an-hour, we stopped to clean the solar panels of the dust they'd accumulated before continuing on the highway…

* * *

I coughed and choked on the thick smoke. "Y- Yang!" I shouted, coughing more.

My legs shambled through the burning cafeteria, bodies of young huntsmen and civilians alike littering the floor.

A loud and meaty _thump_ resounded out from behind me. Turning to face it, my breath hitched.

"Y- Yang…" I muttered, her headless body oozing blood onto the corpse-stricken floor.

"Is _this_ what you want?" _Her_ voice said from behind me.

I whipped around, screaming as her _disembodied head_ floated before me.

In only a blink, her eyes were covered by an all-too-familiar bone mask. "You should've run while you still could have." _His_ voice came out of _her_ mouth.

Behind her head, a black figure strode out of the smoke. He roughly shoved the floating head to the ground, taking its mask and putting it over his own eyes. "You always _were_ predictable." He said.

Before I could even blink, his sword flashed from his sheath, spearing directly into my ey-

* * *

I gasped, shooting up in bed. Sucking in deep breath after deep breath, my eyes frantically darted around, looking for any sign of _him_.

I found none.

Instead, I found myself sitting in a dark and small room, my nightvision being the only reason I could even see _that_. Beside me, I heard Weiss mumble something about winter leaving or something – maybe it was her favorite season on this planet?

I shook my head, already knowing that going back to sleep was a fool's errand. I scooted off the bed, heading for the rear doors. Going past Penny, the laser guns Ruby was tinkering with, and the duffle bag with about thirty thousand dollars that Weiss _acquired_ from the ATM, I threw on my heels and grabbed Gambol Shroud as I exited the vehicle.

Quietly shutting the door, I took a seat on the rear bumper, gazing out into the fully overcast night. There was _so_ little light, in fact, that even my Faunus eyes had trouble seeing truly clearly; something that deeply unsettled me.

I took a deep breath, scanning the RV park we'd stopped in for any Grimm… before remembering that Earth had none to begin with. Shaking my head, I decided that maybe a run would do me some good; it usually did back at Beacon…

My ears folded against my head, knowing that even if I _somehow_ got back home, I'd never see my school whole again. Taking one last steadying breath, I stood up and lightly jogged out of our spot, heels clicking against the pavement with every step I took.

After only a few moments, I fell into a soothing rhythm. The vast majority of the other RVs – and campsites – I passed were completely dark, only a single one had any lights on and the lanky man that stood outside it looked like he _just_ got here. Something felt… _off_ about him, though; and not just because he was wearing sunglasses at night.

Just… the way he stood – all his weight on one leg, his back bent off to one side, one of his arms tightly curled up while his hand hung limp – It just… didn't look like how normal people stood.

Add in the fact that he was hyper-focused on _me_ , and I felt the need to cut my run short. At the first corner, I took a right, heading back to the van with a row of RVs and tents between the strange man and I. Soon enough, I was back where I started, but just as I approached the actual doors, I heard something scurry under the vehicle.

In a flash, my sword was out and I was peering under the car…

…only to find nothing.

I frowned, listening as closely as I could, but again, nothing was making a single _sound_.

Sighing, I got back up and reached for the-

 _Rustle_.

I whipped around. "Who's there?!" I shouted.

…

…

…I knew better than to discount my senses; I _knew_ I heard something.

But it also occurred to me that there were three unconscious people in the van behind-

The door clicked open. "Blake?" Weiss asked, sounding tired. "Why are you up at such an ungodly hour?"

I glanced towards her. "Something's out-"

My ear flicked. I ripped Gambol's sheath free, blade transforming into a gun and two bullets left the barrel. A cloud of ink _erupted_ where I struck my target, a screeching wail escaping the creature. Only a moment later, the entire campground _awoke_ with inhuman screeches and wails.

"Get the van started, we gotta go!" I shouted. When I looked back into the inky black, I saw multiple green lights power up, just barely able to make out their forms.

They looked like _exact clones_ of the creepy man from before.

I barely had time to process that thought before they raised their weapons. I dodged out of the way, drawing their fire away from the van as hot green globs shot past me, one even nicking my aura. I returned fire, striking one in the head and collapsing it instantly, more of the inky black fog shooting out as it died.

The others rushed forward as I heard the van struggle to start, Yang's voice cursing from inside the vehicle. I dodged their follow-up shots with a shadowclone, their spindly forms quickly ducking into cover behind other vehicles in the park.

One of the two being used as cover had one of its lights flick on, the owner emerging a moment later with a baseball bat in hand. The creature growled, hocking a glob of spit at the man…

…which burst into more of that inky blackness.

I could hear the man's screams from inside as he choked on the gas. I fought back the urge to vomit, only doing so because I had to dodge more alien rounds from the murderous creature's friend. I grunted. "Get over here!" I shouted, throwing Gambol Shroud at one of them, wrapping around its torso and yanking it towards me.

With a single swipe of my sheath, it was sliced in two, the toxic cloud flying with the body as it sailed into the woods behind our park. The other one started taking potshots at me, running away as it did so…

…right behind a big, hulking _mass_ of muscle encased in red armor.

This new creature roared, charging me with its bare fists. My eyes narrowed as I met with a charge of my own, both parts of Gambol Shroud in my hands. A red bust of laserfire flew past me, striking the other alien in the chest and killing it.

I didn't bother looking back to see who shot it, too focused on dodging the massive _Beringel-like_ fist hurling towards me. I was surprised; it was slow enough for me to not even need to use my semblance. It more than made up for its lack of speed with its durability, though, as my blade _bounced off_ the armor.

Rolling to the side, I left it with a quick cut – just as ineffective as the first – and glared at it as I formed a new strategy. It growled, punching its own palm as it circled me. I stowed Gambol's sheath on my back, cupping the main blade with my off hand at about the half-way mark.

Another burst of red shot out from the van, barely missing the monster in front of me. It was, however, enough to distract it. I leaped into action, going for a stab between the armored plates this time. Before it could even realize what was happening, I'd already stabbed it in the chest. I quickly withdrew the sword, aiming to make another hole in its hi-

A fist passed through the mist that was once my body. I reappeared on its backside, getting in another piercing strike before rolling out of the way and poofing behind it once more. I danced circles around the beast, slowly killing it by a thousand cut-

A flash of _pain_ and _heat_ struck my back, making me yel- I was suddenly flying backwards, _feeling_ the indentation the beast's fist made in my aura. I rebounded off an RV, denting it as I fell to the ground with a groan.

Quickly, I rolled to my feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in my aura and grabbing my fallen sword before jumping back into the fray. Red laserfire streamed from the van, striking the strange men that had appeared and were returning fire with their green glowing weapons.

One bolt managed to get inside, earning a scream of pain from Ruby. I gasped, wanting to run to her side immediately, but the hulking mass of muscle and armor blocked my path. My eyes narrowed; I needed to end this _now_.

Flashing around a _massive_ overhead swing, I embedded Gambol Shroud deep into the monster's back. Its legs immediately went limp, meaning I'd hit my target. Before it even hit the ground, I had my sword swinging upward to meet its neck.

I barely even glanced back as I sprinted towards the group of strange men, the volume of laserfire from the van having decreased substantially. I grunted, flipping Gambol to its pistol form once again and opening fire. Just as the first one fell, the van's engine roared to life.

I sprinted for it, jumping in only a moment before it shot backwards, reversing into the street. Yang and I kept firing at the remaining two enemies as Weiss floored it towards the camp's exit. I wrenched the doors closed as their fire abated, collapsing to the floor.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I closed my eyes and drifted to-

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, her voice thick with panic. Ice gripped my heart as I turned my attention to her.

"Y- Yang… it… it hurts!" She cried, holding her arm. Just barely, I could make out a pair of scorchmarks on her arm; both streaks being black as the night outside and giving off a pungent odor.

"Penny, give Weiss directions to a hospital!"

"The nearest one is approximately thirty minutes away, Sister!Yang!"

"Half-an-hour?! What?!" Yang shouted. "There has to be something closer, look again!"

"I'm sorry, there is nothing closer."

"W- Well then what do we do?! There has to be something that we can-"

"Does she have her aura unlocked?" I asked.

Yang's head whipped to face me. "What even _is_ that?"

I frowned. "I'll take that as a 'no'." I said, scooting closer.

"W- What are you doing?" She asked, glancing between Ruby and I as her sister sobbed.

My ears fell flat to my head. "It… won't dull the pain much, but it'll speed up the healing a _lot_ more; and it'll prevent her from being hurt again."

"That doesn't tell me what you're-"

"Just… trust me, okay?" I sighed. "You guys saved me from… I don't even _want_ to know what. Now I can return the favor." I knelt next to her, cradling her head in one arm while I placed my other hand on her stomach.

"B- Blake?"

"Shh…" I let out. "Just… breathe, okay?" She nodded. I closed my eyes, letting my aura flow into her body. "…For it is in solitude we achieve solace…" I muttered, lips moving on their own. "Through this, our minds are cleared and our weapons honed. From the shadow of my soul, I release yours, and by thine light, find hope…"

* * *

My eyes snapped open, the interior of the van replaced with a deep and muddy bog. I took a deep breath, striding outside the transparent bubble I'd awoken in and into the howling winds of Ruby's soul.

The chill instantly started biting at my fingertips, my shoes sinking into the mud up to my thighs. I grunted, forcing aura into my legs to propel me forward. All around me, mangrove trees waved their spindly branches that created the wind; the soul forest itself providing a path – though harrowing – to my objective.

Whirlpools of mud and grime stood between me and the barely visible statue of Ruby Rose, but I _had_ to get there. My legs pumped and ached with every step, and even _buckled_ when I jumped over each and every whirlpool, but after seemingly _days_ of struggle, I made it.

Covered in the mud of her soul, I approached the statue. I took a deep breath, bringing all the good memories of Ruby and I to the front of my mind. A moment later, the statue's face morphed from its neutral expression to a welcoming one, its arms spreading wide. I nodded to it, walking to the large bowl at its feet.

Inside, a tiny ember flickered, barely clinging to life in the storm. I reached inside and cupped my hands around it, giving it the tiniest kick-start from my own aura. Soon the ember grew into a fledgling flame; more kindling turning it into a fire, which grew to a blazing _inferno_ all on its own.

I stepped back, satisfied with my work, and closed my eyes…

* * *

My eyes fluttered open as I drew a deep breath, slumping against the van's wall.

"W- What did you do to me?" Ruby asked.

"I unlocked your aura." I said, seeing red lightning flash across her skin, pooling over the charred wounds on her arm.

She squirmed. "It… feels… _weird_."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"W- Will she be alright?" Yang asked.

"Yeah; even if her aura's never had to work before, I wouldn't be surprised if it just looked like a rash by dawn." I said. "It might be sore for the rest of the day, though."

She winced. "I'd take sore over this, though…" She said. "Still… do we have any ibuprofen or something?"

"Uhh… yeah, one sec." Yang said, jumping over to our pile of boxes that held our food and drinks for the trip. After some rummaging around, she returned with a small bottle of pills as well as some water. Ruby eagerly gulped down a pair of them, wincing when she moved _just_ wrongly enough to aggravate her wounds. Yang glanced at me again. "So… what… what should we do?"

"For an injury like that? Probably just bedrest for a day and let her aura do its job."

"But what _is_ aura?" She asked.

I hummed. "Well, long story short, it's the physical manifestation of your soul." I said. "It protects us from harm, alerts us when we're in danger, and even speeds up our healing if things… _don't_ go well." I nodded to Ruby. "…Like now, actually."

"You don't say…" Yang muttered, rolling her eyes. "So I'm supposed to believe that you somehow told her _soul_ – something which we don't even know _exists_ in real life – to help heal her faster."

I just… _stared_ at her for a moment. "What the…" I muttered. "How can you _not_ know a soul exists?"

She shrugged. "Never really bought into religion myself; our family never has."

The back of my head clanked against the van's wall. "Where does _that_ even come into this?"

"You're the one who brought up souls." She said. "But still… what _is_ this stuff…"

I rolled my eyes. "If you really don't believe me, I can unlock your aura too. It'll work just like hers, only it won't be working overtime to heal you." I blinked. "Actually, we might wanna get her some food; aura burns up a lot of calories when you use it and she doesn't look like she has too much fat to burn off."

Ruby's gaze shot towards me. "You mean I can eat _more_ cookies?"

I chuckled. "Some things never change…" I muttered, drawing a raised eyebrow from Yang. "The, ehem, _other_ Ruby ate them constantly, much to Weiss's displeasure."

"The other Ruby…" The wounded girl muttered. "What's she like… err… what am I like?"

I sighed, relaxing. "She's…" I hummed. "I guess if I had to describe her in one word, I'd say she's… pure." I said. "She was always too wrapped up with hanging out with the team, maintaining her weapon, and just generally being a bright little ball of _happy_ to let anything get her down." My ears folded against my head. "…I hope she's alright…" I muttered. "I hope _everyone_ 's alright."

A soft hand gently grasped my forearm. "I'm sure they are." Ruby said.

"And I'm still having trouble buying your story." Yang said.

I sighed. "Even after I told you guys what I found out?"

She rolled her eyes. "Even after the whole 'interplanetary twins' thing." She said. "I know Ruby can have her head in the clouds sometimes, but I just… I need _proof_. Sure, you can make some fancy lights, but superheroes? Monsters? I need a bit more to go off of than a story."

I frowned. "You know, my offer still stands to unlock your aura."

She glared at me for a minute, thinking it over. Finally she rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said. "What do I have to do?"

"Just… relax." I said, scooting over to her and repeating the same process as I did with Ruby. I said the chant, delved into her soulscape, tended her fire, and came back out again with a gasp. Almost instantly, I collapsed onto the mattress, right next to Ruby.

I was barely awake long enough to tell them how much doing it twice in a row exhausted me, the words coming out as a jumble before I slipped into unconsciousness…

* * *

My eyes fluttered open, the oppressive and artificial lights making me groan as I buried my face in my pillow. Slowly, my memory returned, and I sat up.

"Glad to see you're awake, finally." Weiss said.

I glanced towards her. "Ugh, good morning, I guess." I said. "Where are we and how long have we been here?"

"The hospital." Ruby said, peaking her head out from behind her partner. "We've only been here for a few hours; the doctors were _really_ impressed by how quick the burns are healing, by the way."

"Indeed they were. They even asked for a sample or two." Weiss said.

I hummed. "So when can we leave? I don't like the idea of staying in one place too long with those… _things_ hunting us."

She shrugged, hitting a button on the wall. "The nurse said to call her when you were up. They couldn't find anything directly wrong with you."

"That's because there wasn't. I just… it probably wasn't a good idea to unlock two auras back-to-back; _especially_ after I just lost a good chunk in a fight."

"Sounds like regular-ole overworking a muscle to me." Ruby said.

I shrugged. "That's… not a bad analogy, actually." I said. "It's not like I haven't unlocked auras before, it's just… I don't think I've ever had to unlock _two_ at a time like that."

"Well, consider that a lesson learned." Weiss said.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks, it's _so_ much clearer now."

Before anyone could say anything else, the nurse strode in. I ended up having to answer only a few questions and do a few physical tests before they sent us to the front desk to sign some paperwork. Just as we finished – most of mine being signed under an alias I'd used in the 'Fang – Yang walked in with several bags of fast food.

We sat outside on a picnic table, eating our breakfast. Ruby and Yang complained that they were still hungry, despite Yang getting even more food for the two of them than usual. I felt the same way, but didn't voice my opinion.

Soon enough, we were back on the road. I sat in the back with Ruby and Weiss, munching on some potato chips as we watched the city zoom by out the window.

"So… umm…" Ruby started. "You said that we needed a wide-open area to practice our aura thingy, right?"

I nodded. "As wide open as possible. Come to think of it, there aren't any Grimm around, so being away from people would probably be a good idea too."

She hummed, hopping up towards the front. "Hey Penny, where's a really big national park or something that's not _too_ far out of the way?"

"Searching… the nearest place that meets all of your criteria is the Bridger-Teton National Forest, shared between Wyoming and Idaho."

"Great!" She shouted, turning back to me. "So, ya think a week is enough time to teach us how to use these things?"

I shrugged. "Enough to cover the _very basics_ , maybe." I hummed. "But that's enough to get you started."

"So it's settled. We'll go camp out in the woods for a week while Blake teaches us about this thingy and then we'll go… see… Raven…" She trailed off. "Hey Blake, can we stay more than a week?"

* * *

/-\ Enemy Unknown /-\

* * *

"Master, they have captured our supply ship."

…

"They have released the Other contained within."

"… **It matters not."**

"Shall we take direct action?"

"… **No more than was currently planned. Has the Other made contact with the Anomalies?"**

"Yes Master, our pursuit force was destroyed with extreme prejudice."

…

"Shall we deploy the alternate Other?"

"… **No. His will has not yet been broken."**

"May I speed the process?"

"… **See to it that you do…"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to cut it a little shorter this time around; this ending just fit. Well, that and the alien POV. Gotta say, though, now that named characters aren't dying left and right, this is becoming quite enjoyable to write. Though it could be that I'm finally able to trick the gang into some shenanigans; you can't tell me that the idea of Weiss unknowingly robbing a convenience store isn't hilarious.
> 
> Not much else to say, so I'll see y'all next time in "Soul Magic For Dummies".


	6. Soul Magic For Dummies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… it's kinda been a while, hasn't it? So, umm… sorry about that; between school, work, and getting distracted with an Assyria revival campaign kinda eat up time. Speaking of that campaign, though, it was inspired by a meme on our Discord server, which you can join with this link:
> 
> Other than that, I'd like to give a special thanks to the betas for this chapter: Wesley9516 and BigbossHayden98!
> 
> So, without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

Chapter Five

Soul Magic For Dummies

* * *

/-\ John Bradford /-\

* * *

"Central, this is Hermes two-three, requesting entrance to the base."

I flicked my monitor over to the base's external cameras, seeing the quartet of military-style trucks parked just outside Engineering's big blast doors. "Copy, Hermes, access granted." I said, pressing a button to open the doors for them. My gaze lingered for a moment, lamenting the fact that we only needed _four_ trucks now, with both India and Brazil withdrawing from the project in the last month. I stared just long enough for the two dozen men of Engineering's BaseSec detachment to start filtering into view.

We'd really stepped up our own security since the aliens assaulted our base a few months ago; hell, we've got four times as many BaseSec as actual Operators. I wish we could afford to replenish their numbers fully, but it took time to train people up. Unfortunately, our attrition rates just simply didn't allow that to happen; there just weren't enough experienced survivors to fill out advisory roles to the new, mass-recruited rookie teams.

To make matters worse, we were overdue for a terror mission. Those damn things always managed to wipe out half a strike team… on a _good_ op. I sighed, switching my monitor back to the report Vahlen sent. Why the Commander couldn't just read it himself was beyond me, but it was always my job to translate her science-ese into readable English for that grey-haired sonofabitch.

As I went on, a pit started to form in my stomach. Sure, she hadn't been bothered to autopsy the Human corpses we found on-scene of that landed UFO last week, but she still didn't spare any details about what her colleagues had found. Claw wounds. Grizzly claw wounds.

There was only one alien we knew of that even _had_ claws and none of their corpses had been found at the scene. To make matters worse, the force behind the claws was _much_ more than a Chryssalid should've been able to produce. Hesitantly, I wrote 'New alien species?' in my notebook before moving onto the next section.

This one was much less unsettling, as it dealt with the strange crystals found in one of the rooms. Just as I was starting to read it, another message from Vahlen appeared on my screen. I sighed when I read the subject line – crystal-related accident report.

I already knew this was gonna be a long day…

* * *

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I gasped as I tripped, ramming face-first into a tree. The pain came just as instantly as I'd expected, but faded almost as quickly. Still… "Owww…" I muttered, dusting myself off and standing up. With a sigh, I retrieved my fallen weapon and slung it around my back – she said to keep it close, after all…

"You alright?" Blake asked.

Turning around, I groaned. "You make this look so _easy_!"

She shrugged. "Well, I _have_ been doing it for a while now." She said. "Just… keep practicing. You'll get a handle on your aura sooner or later."

My shoulders slumped as I sighed. "Can we just… walk back to camp? I… I don't really feel like falling again."

She chuckled. "Well, you're the one who wanted to run before you could walk… so to speak." She said. "I want you to keep your aura up the entire way back, though; it's good for practice."

Nodding, I followed her. This forest felt… _different_ from the ones back home. I was certainly no arborist, but even I could tell the trees were much, much different here…. More… _wild_. Actual paths were rare, most of the forest floor here was dominated by thick underbrush and the occasional fallen tree. We would've had a hell of a time getting the van through here, so we ended up camouflaging it not too far off a service road.

The deerpath came to a fork, one end going down to a clearing by the lake – our campsite – while the other went deeper into the woods. We took a right, Glistening Rose snagging on a low-hanging treebranch as we moved forward. Quickly freeing it, I pushed aside the last branch before we stepped into the campsite proper.

Even though we'd been here a few days already, I still felt _tiny_ as the snow-capped mountains across the lake from us just… _towered over_ _everything_. For all the traveling our family did over the years, we didn't really go to that many national parks – especially not ones with mountains. Not that I didn't treasure the memories of all the campsites we visited but… the sight…

…It made me wish they could be here…

With a sigh, I kept moving forward, following Blake around the tent to the firepit. I walked straight into a downright _heavenly_ aroma as I approached. Seeing the stew pot sway back and forth as it steamed over the fire brought back memories. Good ones, sure, but…

I sighed, shaking my head as I plopped down in the chair between the other two.

Weiss looked downright _frozen_ ; in fact, I was half-worried she might shiver her fingers off if she could not physically put them _inside_ the actual flames themselves. I blinked, only now noticing the slight nip in the air. It wasn't like I was wearing anything heavy either – just my standard jeans, tee, and cloak overtop.

Yang was… _weird_. Her eyes stared unblinkingly into the flames themselves as she sat on her knees in front of the pit. The wood inside shifted, sending a shower dancing little sparks all over her, but she didn't even flinch. Instead, a faint yellow glow seemingly intercepted the embers, not even leaving a single scorch mark on either her clothes or skin when both vanished.

Blake glanced at her for a moment before smiling and returning her attention to Weiss, who was too concerned with staying warm to even notice. She undid her jacket, draping it around the white-haired girl's shoulders.

Weiss flinched slightly, gaze shooting up. "T- Thanks." She said.

"Don't mention it." She said. "But you should use your aura – it does more than just keep you safe."

"Right." She muttered, closing her eyes. "I'm still getting used to all this… _insanity_." After a moment, a light blue shroud encompassed her body, fading shortly thereafter. Her hands began to still as she opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's… thank you. It's much more bearable now." She said, turning her attention to the food in front of her. "She put this on a while ago, do you think it's done?"

Blake hummed. "Let's ask her." She said, placing a hand on my sister's shoulder. Yang gasped, falling backwards and making me giggle. "Anybody home?" Blake asked with a smirk.

Yang growled, dusting herself off as she sat back up. "Could you _not_? I nearly had a godda-" Her eyes flicked to me. "…goshdarn heart attack because of... _whatever_ you did."

She shrugged, plopping down next to the fire. "You were spaced out pretty hard. I just used a tiny bit of aura to wake you."

"And here I thought you _wanted_ me to meditate…" She muttered, shaking her head before looking back to me. "How'd _your_ session go?"

"Okay, I guess? I only ran into like… five trees this time? Progress!" I said, an awkward chuckle bubbling up through my throat.

She stared at me for a moment, her eyes looked… _off_. "Just… promise me you won't hurt yourself, okay?" She said, her face twisted in unfamiliar worry. After a moment, a too-wide grin stretched across it. "I gotta have _someone_ to beat into the dirt in Mortal Kombat!"

I laughed. "Pssh, in your dreams! I'm like… _this_ close to beating you finally!"

She rolled her eyes. "As _if_!" She said, scooting over to me and enveloping me in a hug.

I squeaked as the air was forced from my lungs, squirming through my sister's _unusually_ tight embrace. I stilled when I just barely heard her breath hitch, returning the hug. After an _uncomfortably long_ time, she finally released me with a pat on the shoulder.

With a sigh, she walked over to the nearby table, grabbed the plastic spoon from her mess kit, and took a tiny amount of the rabbit stew. Blowing on it for a few moments, she sipped. "Yeah, I'd say it's done." She said, retrieving her bowl and a ladle before dishing some up for herself.

The rest of us followed suit, only Weiss doing so slightly awkwardly. "I've never had… _rabbit_ before." She said with a slight shiver.

"You'll love it." Blake said, already chowing away. "The other you compared it to free-range chicken."

She hummed, slowly taking a bite. After a few moments, she swallowed. "Could use a bit more seasoning, but..." She took another bite. "It's _far_ from the worst dish I've had."

I still hadn't even taken a single bite. It's not like I wasn't hungry, I just… it felt like we weren't whole, just us four. I sighed, wondering how _she_ felt about this arrangement – about being left alone for days on end like you'd do to a regular, mindless computer.

With a frown, I reached for my mess kit's pan, clipping my carabiner-bound silverware to my belt. I closed up the bowl, using the pan as a lid, and stood up. "Hey, I uhh… think I'ma go back to the van, kay?"

"Huh?" Yang let out. "Why?"

I glanced towards the ground. "…I wanna see Penny."

"Oh." She let out. "You umm… know we're not abandoning her, right?"

"Of course I do. Neither of us would _ever_ do that!"

"Good. Because you're da- _darn_ right about that." She said, sighing. "Is this about one of your… _things_? Do you want me to come with, or get you in the morning?"

I scratched the back of my head. "A- Actually… if it's alright with you…"

She held up her finger. "Just… be safe, okay?"

Nodding, I gave a half-hearted salute. "I'll keep my aura up." I said, turning around and jogging away.

"You better!" I heard her yell.

Soon enough, I was lost in a sea of trees and underbrush. Through my excitement, I occasionally found myself going a bit faster than I probably should've and forced myself to slow down. I didn't want to fall and spill my lunch everywhere, after all.

Still, running with my aura on was a lot easier than it had been when I started only two days ago – it took so much concentration I could barely walk in a straight line! Now I could _jog_ … even if I wanted to run.

Or sprint.

Just _imagining_ the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair and my legs pumping one after the other got my heart _racing_. I was half-tempted to turn off my aura just to do it. I didn't, though, having promised Yang not to only a few minutes ag-

_White_

I gasped, _teleporting_ away.

_Hoo_

_Hoo hoo_

Groaning, my eyes fluttered open. I sat up, gaze darting towards the noises to find a snow-white owl perched on a branch.

_Hoo_

"Ugh… stupid bird…" I muttered, dusting myself off. I looked back towards the deerpath I'd been jogging along, looking for my mess kit. It wasn't hard to find, being surrounded by- "…Rose petals?" I muttered, rubbing one between my fingers.

They felt completely natural, but… "Where did these come from?" I shrugged after a few moments, letting it drop back to the ground. My fingers – now stained red – grasped the mess kit. To my pleasant surprise, it _hadn't_ broken open and spilled rabbit stew everywhere.

I gave the owl one last glare before continuing towards the van. Before I knew it, I was already three miles in, my legs not being anywhere _near_ as exhausted as they should be. Still though… I could use a break; I certainly wasn't an Olympian or anything, even if I did like to run on occasion.

My sighed as I finally caught sight of the massive pile of brush that concealed the van, only the solar panels being fully visible. Slowing to a stop, I relaxed against a pine tree for a minute, my chest heaving. After a few moments of catching my breath, I walked on my rubbery legs to the hidden back of the van.

Shoving aside some underbrush, I put my key in and opened the door. It was completely dark inside, as I thought it'd be; she didn't really need light like we did. I whipped out my phone, flipping on its flashlight just long enough to find the lightswitch. "…Penny?" I asked, shutting the door behind me.

Just behind the driver's seat, her centaurbot rested on the charging station, the lights dark. I looked around, not seeing any signs of her backpack-based unit. Scrounging around for a few minutes in the various piles of supplies we brought yielded nothing. A pit formed in my stomach as the thought of her being _kidnapped_ started itching at the back of my mind.

I exited the vehicle, peering up to our supply pile beneath the solar panels. It was exactly as we left it; no Penny here. Climbing back inside for another search, I practically started ripping the place apart. Only after basically every pile was scattered around the back of the van did I even _think_ to look up front…

…and immediately found her laying under the passenger seat…

I breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing the backpack and bringing it to the rear compartment of the van. Oddly enough, though, the status lights on it were completely dark. With a shrug, I pressed the power button, watching as the machine hummed to life.

A few moments later, the status lights on the centaurbot flickered on, the fans on its flanks buzzing. "Boot sequence initiated!" Penny's cheery voice said from the backpack. "Finished! I am now ready to-" It stopped abruptly, the status lights on her backpack flashing red then orange before returning to green. "…H- Hello? I- Is any- ny- ny- nyone… t- there?"

"Y- Yeah." I said. "It's me."

"…R- Ruby? Sister!Ruby?"

I practically leaped over to the centaurbot and held one of its 'hands', one of the few places where Penny had a touch sensor. "I'm here, Penny. What's wrong?"

"I- I- I was… alone." She said. "I was… trapped here."

I frowned. "We've only been gone for a couple days. Did… did something happen while we were gone?"

"N- No… nothing…" She said. "Nothing happened… nothing… at all…"

"Umm… isn't that… a good thing?"

Penny sat silent for a moment, her centaurbot not moving a single artificial muscle. "I…" She started. "It… may be for you, but I'm… I suppose you could say I'm in the synthetic equivalent of a sensory deprivation tank."

I blinked. "Wha-"

"Compared to the house, I'm… I might as well be blind, deaf, and… desolate."

I squeezed her 'hand' slightly. "Well… you're not so _desolate_ anymore; not with me here."

"I- I mean… I cannot…" She sat silent, the fans whirring ever louder. "…I always had something to do…" She muttered. "I- If you can help it, please… don't leave me alone again."

"You got it." I said. "Well, I kinda tore this place apart looking for you, so… why don't we start putting it back together? After that, I've got some food I can munch on while we work on those laser guns."

"I would love that, Sister!Ruby. I still have the partial schematics we've been assembling since we started the trip!"

"Great! Let's get to work!"

* * *

/-\ The _Savior_ /-\

* * *

I suddenly became aware for the first time in…

…

…how long?

The void surrounded me, as thick and oppressive as the Humans had always been to my kind.

**Greetings, child.**

My head whipped around, searching for the source of the voice that reverberated through my mind.

**You will not find what you seek.**

I tried grunting in frustration, but no sound left my mouth. I was no mere _child_ ; I was the champion of the-

 **Faunus, yes.** **Your…** _ **conviction**_ **is why we have selected you.**

I didn't sign up for anything!

**You will, child.**

I don't make deals with those that do not benefit the Faunus!

**Your history with Cinder Fall tells another story.**

Silently roaring, I thrashed out, striking… _nothing_.

**You are powerless here, child.**

…

… **But that need not be the case forever.**

Fuck yo-

A searing pain shot through my body, lightning coursing through my veins as I _squirmed_. I tried to scream in pain, but I still physically could not. And that's when the very _air_ turned to poison, every silent gasp feeling like I was inhaling raw _fire_. I writhed and writhed, muscles convulsing as the pain-

…

…suddenly stopped.

**Do not talk back to your masters, child.**

The Faunus… _have_ no masters.

**Do not mistake your place – it is merely the natural order.**

These _Humans_ were really starting to get on my nerves…

**We are not mere men, child. We are… greater.**

I rolled my eyes.

**In time, you will recognize our strength. Your species is not unique in its willpower, nor are** _**you** _ **the strongest being we have encountered. In time, you will do our bidding.**

Like _hell_ I woul-

The _agony_ returned with a vengeance, every single _inch_ of my skin feeling like it'd been buried in fire dust and then set alight. As I squirmed in pain, I could _barely_ make out the words of the _asshole_ talking to me.

**In time, you will be our…** _**Inquisitor** _ **.**

* * *

/-\ Yang Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I yawned, stepping over yet another tree root that crossed the matted-down foliage of the path we all used. After Ruby's little revelation about just how _lonely_ Penny'd been – something which I still felt guilty about for not visiting her – we'd moved camp to be much closer to the van.

If we had to walk a few miles for water or a bath, then so be it – our sister was more important than convenience. And that's why I had our two five-gallon jugs swinging from my shoulders, a hefty tree branch making them easier to carry.

Soon enough, I stepped out of the treeline and onto the beach where our camp once stood. The slight breeze licked at my skin, giving me a slight shiver as I walked towards the shore proper. I wasn't even half-way when I heard a loud sigh, startling me a bit as I looked towards the source.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw Weiss just… sitting there atop her towel, knees hugged tightly to her chest as she stared at the mountains across the lake. Beside her stood a makeshift clothesline made out of two branches and some rope, a few of her outfits lazily swaying back and forth.

She herself was dressed in her normal – if overly warm in my opinion – clothes, though her snow-white hair was let down for a change – and visibly damp.

I frowned, dropping the jugs and walking towards her. She seemed completely oblivious to the outside world, not even flinching as I approached – it was more than a little creepy, if I was being honest. It wasn't until I plopped down next to her that she even moved a muscle.

With a quiet gasp, her head whipped towards me. "Oh… it's just you."

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." I said, earning a hum as she turned back to the mountains. "So… what're you doing out here? You didn't leave a note at the tent or anything."

"Oh… right… sorry." She said. "I… had a bad dream and I guess I just wanted to be alone for a bit." She shrugged. "Plus, I needed to do laundry."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not… particularly." She said. "But if you _must_ know, it was about my baby sister, Winter."

I grimaced. "That's… the kid we found in your house, right?"

She nodded. "Indeed… That would be her."

My mouth opened to say something, but quickly clicked shut, completely at a loss for words. Instead, I just sat there, soaking up the sun as tiny waves splashed against the lakeshore in front of us. Suddenly, she whispered, her words just _barely_ loud enough for me to even realize that they were words at all. "What?" I asked.

She sighed. "…I didn't want to leave her…"

"Of course you didn't." I said, stating the obvious.

Instead of responding, she only buried her face into her knees. Her breath shuddered and I could tell she was on the verge of crying. "It was an impulsive decision…"

"But you had a _reason_ to leave." I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. After only a moment, my grip faltered slightly as I realized what… what _I'd_ done that night. ' _I_ didn't have a reason to go after that ship…' I thought.

"Why did I have to be _right_?" She asked. "…I might never see her again…"

I… was at a complete loss. With my own thoughts, I could barely even think straight – now she lays _this_ on me? After just… _staring_ at her, I… started slowly rubbing her back…

…it was the only think I could think of…

…

…I totally wasn't blinking away tears as my… _late_ boyfriend's face flashed through my mind…

…or my father's…

…or my uncle's…

…or my friends'…

…or… my mother's…

* * *

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

* * *

I sat against a tree, nose deep in one of the many, _many_ books from this planet as the campfire crackled in the background. My thoughts drifting for a moment, I smirked at just how _ridiculous_ this entire situation was. A couple weeks ago, I didn't even think space travel was even _possible_ , and now I've fought literal _aliens_ in melee combat.

After a moment, I refocused on reading the textbook in front of me – who knew I'd actually pick up a _history_ book outside class? It was certainly as dry as the ones back at Beacon, but… something about a _different_ world's history seemed much more interesting to me than the history of my own people, for some reason. Maybe I'd just heard all _those_ stories too much over the years?

I shook my head, bringing myself out of _another_ tangent and continued skimming the pages. It was somewhat odd that the… Earthens? Earthers? Whatever they called themselves had _actual_ historical records going back _thousands_ of years – even if most of the early civilizations seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with slavery.

Just as I turned the page – the last one talking extensively about some random city-state in the Italian peninsula – the now-familiar sound of robotic joints whirring and rubber feet thumping along the forest floor reached my ears.

Putting a bookmark in place, I stowed it back in my satchel, standing up just as Penny's robotic form entered our campsite. Her dog-like body made several exaggerated motions, looking around the place, before trotting up to me. "Greetings, Acquaintance!Blake." She said, calmly. "May I ask where the others are?"

I shrugged. "Weiss and Yang are over at the lake and Ruby's still sleeping. Why?"

"Umm… no reason." She hiccupped, making me raise an eyebrow. Her quadrupedal form started hopping between its feet, making me stare _even_ more as I patiently waited for her to relen- "Okay! I wanted to talk to you about… something."

"Okay." I said. "What about?"

"I- It's… private." She said. "I… don't want the others to hear."

I hummed. "Alright; my lips are sealed." She just stood there, hopping from foot to foot for a few moments. I rolled my eyes, walking over to the fire and kicking some sand on it, extinguishing the flames in an instant. "Fine, lead the way."

She did her best impression of a nod, trotting back into the forest with me on her tail. Soon enough, we arrived back at the van. One of her robotic arms reached up and latched onto the handle, pulling the door open as she climbed inside.

I shut the door behind me, plopping down on the mattress as she docked to the charging station. "So, umm… what's up?" I asked.

"It's…" She started. "It's… about… aura."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright."

"Do you… know if it's possible for…" She trailed off. "…for some… _thing_ like me to have it?"

I blinked. "Well, I don't really see why not – as long as something has a soul, it can have aura."

"But does this unit have a soul?"

"The other you did. Or at least, she had aura."

"The one that was… killed; at Beacon." She said.

I nodded. "Y- Yeah… at Beacon."

She sat silent for a moment, the fans on her backpack whirring noisily. "Can you… unlock my aura?"

I frowned. "I… would, but… you have to have an… _attachment_ to someone in order to unlock their aura." I said. "It worked for Ruby, Yang, and Weiss because I still see them as my teammates." My ears folded against my head. "I'm… sorry, but… we were never really close – you were _Ruby's_ friend and, well, weird, so the rest of us kinda just... stayed away. Sorry."

"…Oh." She let out, her robotic body motionless. "Can… can my sisters activate !or unlock !or awaken !or unleash !or-"

"It's unlock." I interrupted. "And… that technique is a little advanced for where they're at right now."

"…I see…" She said. "I- Is there… any other way to answer my question?"

"I mean, I think that if you can honestly ask that question, the answer is 'yes', but… there is a way to check." I said. "It usually involves skin-on-skin contact, though…"

"…And that is something I do not possess…"

I sighed. "Well… maybe that doesn't matter. I mean, it really only revolves around both parties being able to _physically_ feel each other, so…"

"Then, perhaps… one of the Centaurbot's pressure sensors? It has one on its head."

I hummed, scooting over to the charging station and hesitantly placing my hand on the smooth surface that sat between the bot's quote-unquote 'shoulder blades', a smiley face drawn on top. "Can you feel this?" I asked.

"Indeed, I can."

"Good." I said, taking a deep breath. I slowly began pushing my aura out through my hand, feeling for the usual sign of resistance whenever one person's aura came in contact with another-

Electricity _jolted_ up my arm.

I gasped, _snapping_ my arm back.

"Acquaintance!Blake!" Penny shouted. "Are you injured?!"

I sighed. "No, just… surprised is all." I said. "Well, you've definitely got a soul. Just… not like any other I've seen before."

"That is…" Her fans whirred loudly. "…good news?" She half-asked. "I… suppose that answers my query, so I must express my thanks."

"Umm… no problem?"

"I… have a few things to think about now. You may return to whatever you were doing before I interrupted."

"Oh-kay then…" I muttered, scooting back over to the door. "Well, if you have any more questions, I guess you know where to find me."

I opened it, stepping out. "I will… be sure to do so, friend!Blake." She said.

* * *

/-\ Yang Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I ducked around my opponent's punch, a twig cracking underfoot as I shifted my footing to retaliate…

…only to find her _well_ inside my guard.

I dropped back, barely parrying Blake's kick. I smirked as my fist sailed towards her face, making conta-

I felt no resistance. Suddenly, she _disappeared_ , leaving absolutely _nothing_ behi-

Something struck the back of my head, knocking me to the ground. Before I could do anything else, I was pinned to the ground, my arm locked behind my back. "Yield?" Blake asked in my ear.

"How did you even-" I groaned, feeling the pressure on my arm increase. "Y- Yeah, I yield." I rolled to my feet, stretching out my arm as I winced. "How the hell did you even _do_ that? It's like you just… _teleported_ or something."

She shrugged. "It was just my semblance."

I blinked. "Your… what?"

She stared at me for a moment. "Oh, right, you've never heard of this stuff before." She said. "Well, you remember how aura is the manifestation of your soul?" I nodded. "Well… your semblance is the manifestation of your aura."

"That explains nothing." I deadpanned.

"Well… I guess you could imagine it as a superpower – everyone with aura has a semblance unique to them in some way, though some or even most aspects can be inherited from your parents."

I crossed my arms. "So let me get this straight – we can all _teleport_ now?"

She hummed. "Not really, no. That's my semblance… sorta; I'll explain it better later." She said, shaking her head. "Either way, your semblance is unique to _you_ , at least in some way. Back on Remnant, your semblance was that you could take a hit and then send it back twice as hard."

"That sounds… _epic_!" I shouted. "When do we get to learn to do that?"

"Not for a while, actually." She said. "No offense, but your aura control is… spotty at _best_ ; all of you guys' is. I wouldn't be surprised if you knocked yourselves out if you tried to use a technique as advanced as a semblance right now." She smiled. "Still, you're getting better; you kept your aura up for our entire spar."

I nodded, gaze trailing to the ground. "Yeah… baby steps, I guess." I said. "Let's go see if Ruby and Weiss are back yet; I'm kinda sick of this forest already."

She raised an eyebrow. "Even if it means you'll have to meet your mother?"

" _Biological_ mother." I corrected. "And… yeah. I… need to move on. If this can get us back on our feet, then… okay." I sighed. "Even if I'm not happy about it." She looked at me expectantly. "I don't want to talk about it."

She hummed. "Fair. Let's get going."

I nodded, leading the way out of the small clearing we used for sparring and aura practice. Only a five-minute walk later, and we were at the van. Ruby was just climbing down from the top, having secured our camping supplies under the solar tent while Weiss stood off to the side, a notebook in hand.

"Hey guys." I said, drawing their attention.

Weiss rolled her eyes. " _There_ you are – we finished packing by ourselves, thank you very little."

"Hey, it's not our fault you guys decided to go swimming like… an hour or two before we left." I said. "But… I'm guessing we're ready?"

"We are travel-ready, Sister!Yang!" Penny said, poking her robot head outside the van doors.

"Awesome, let's get going." I said. The other three started mounting up in the van, but… I placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "So…" I started. "You really think this was enough for us to get a handle on our auras?"

She chuckled. "Not even close, but it'll have to do."

I sighed, unable to do anything but agree…

* * *

"So… this is… Alba… kirk?" Blake asked.

"Albuquerque." Penny corrected. "The largest city in the state of New Mexico, though we are currently on the outskirts."

"Yeah… that." She said, staring out the window. "Reminds me of Vacuo – just with more trees and less crime."

Outside, short, barely green trees whizzed by, their roots taking hold in ground that was so sandy, it could scarcely be called soil. Taking my eyes off the road for a split second, I stole a glance at the van's temperature gauge, still surprised it was _ninety-five degrees_ … in _September_.

"It sounds like a _lovely_ place." Weiss said. "Is that where you're from?"

"Gods no." She said. "I'm from Menagerie… yes, the Faunus of the group is from a place called… _that_. Don't mock it, it was an insult to our people almost a century ago."

"O- Oh…" Weiss let out. After a few moments, she cleared her throat. "So… how long until we, umm… get there?"

"GPS says ten minutes." I said… and then spotted a _particularly_ annoying sign. "Ugh, military checkpoint ahead."

"Well, we're not _fugitives_ or anything, so I say we just get this over with." Weiss said.

"Is there any way around?" Blake asked. "I don't really… _play nice_ with soldiers anymore."

"Why am I not surprised?" Weiss asked. "Well, Penny?"

"Unfortunately not, acquaintance!Weiss." She said. "All the entryways to the city are garrisoned due to the invasion."

I rolled my eyes. "So it's either hide the van and _walk_ or try to get through without getting arrested or something." I stole another glance at the temperature gauge. "Yeah, I dunno about you guys, but I'm _not_ gonna go through miles and miles of _this_ if I don't have to."

"Agreed." / "Yep." / "Screw that." They all said.

"Alright, well, next problem… what do I tell them? We're a bunch of school-age girls that are _obviously_ skipping… and the driver has a license from half-way across the country."

Blake hummed. "Good point. Gimmie a sec…" She said. "How about 'the aliens destroyed our school and we're touring the kingdo- err… _country_ while they're rebuilding'."

I groaned. "They'll never buy that…" I said… before realizing we'd just about arrived at the checkpoint. Just as we came to a stop, the _tiny_ line advanced, leaving only a single car between us and the checkpoint. "Uhh… guys?" I asked, glancing backwards. "Any better ideas would be _really_ appreciated."

Aaaand that's when I heard someone knock on the window. I nearly jumped out of my skin as my head whipped around… and saw someone _very_ familiar. I quickly rolled down the window. " _Coco_?" I asked.

"Hey Blondie!" She said, a smile on her face. "Sweet ride."

"Uhhh…" I let out. "Sorry, but I _completely_ forgot you went into the army. They shipped you _here_?"

She shrugged. "Gotta go somewhere with all this craziness." She said. "Guess they figured this place could use a little more eleven-bravo magic."

"Still, it looks _weird_ seeing you without your purse and in a uniform."

She laughed. "Oh, don't worry, I've still got that." She said, glancing around inside the van. "But that said, I've still gotta do my job. The hell're ya doin' way down here?"

"U- Umm… Sabbatical?"

She raised an eyebrow. "In the desert? _You_? Not bloody likely, firecracker."

"Okay, _fine_." I sighed. "We're… here to see my mother – my _biological_ mother."

Her smirk instantly dropped. "Oh." She muttered. "Then… who are they?" She asked, motioning to Weiss, Blake, and Ruby.

"They're…" I sighed again, _really_ not happy about lying to _Coco_ of all people. "They're… my sisters." I made a show of rolling my eyes angrily. "Turns out _mom's_ a slut on top of being a raging bitch."

She frowned. "I'm… sorry to hear that." She said. "Well… at least you're not alone in facing her." She nodded, stepping back. "Good luck, for what it's worth."

And with that, she waved us through, sending us on our way. Not a single word was spoken on the final leg to Raven's house. We passed through some pretty sketchy neighborhoods – bars on the windows, streets full of potholes, the occasional car on cinderblocks – and through some _somewhat_ nice ones – tall-ish trees, well-kept houses, _grass_ – until we reached a place between the two… and the little red brick house that my phone said was the right one.

I slowed the vehicle, putting it in park and shutting it off. With a sigh, I turned back to the others. "I… guess this is our stop. Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but to be honest, if she _actually_ lets you guys stay…" I sighed. "I… wouldn't mind if you did."

"Nor would I!" Penny shouted.

"Me neither." Ruby said, a smile on her face.

Both Blake and Weiss smiled. "Well… thank you." Weiss said. "I… very much appreciate the sentiment, and I can tell that Blake does too." The Faunus nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah…" I said, opening my door. "Well, Ruby… I guess we should probably get going."

" _Only_ you two?" Weiss asked, rolling her eyes. "You're at least _trying_ to put a roof over my head – the least I could do is help." She said, opening the back door.

"Couldn't've said it better myself." Blake said, joining her outside.

I smiled, leading them up the narrow and full-of-weeds driveway, past an old clunker sitting there. I _really_ hoped she was home, but… I guess I'd find out in a few seconds.

Hesitantly, I approached the door, sneaking one last glance at my phone to confirm the address. With a hand that felt as heavy as lead, I knocked.

…

…

I knocked again.

…

…

I knocked aga-

"Come back with a warrant!" I heard a feminine voice shout from inside.

I blinked, glancing back at Ruby – who looked just as dumbfounded as I was – and then to Blake and Weiss. "U- Umm…" I started. "We're not cops?"

"That's exactly what the cops would say!" She shouted back as I heard footsteps on the other side of the door. "Wait, actually, you sound a bit young to be a pig. Are you a girl scout?"

"U- Uhh…"

"Because if you are, I'm almost out of those goddamn thin mint things."

Suddenly, Blake stepped forward. "Yeah, we're girl scouts. I'm guessing you want to buy them?"

"Hell yeah! Just a sec, need to get my bra on…"

I shuddered at the image, taking a deep breath. A part of me – okay, _most_ of me – wanted to punch her in the face the _second_ that door swung open… _unfortunately_ , that would severely hamper our chances of _actually_ staying with her… as much as I hated the thought.

I'd _almost_ unclenched my fists by the time the door swung open, an older, black-haired, and half-dressed version of myself staring back at me. She looked like she hadn't showered in _several_ days, her hair caked in filth, exposed stomach blackened from dirt, and her arms stained up to the elbows in grease.

A wad of cash fell from her grasp as she stared at me. "…Oh." She let out. "Well, I probably look like shit."

"It compliments your personality." I said without thinking.

She reared back, a look of shock on her face…

…before bursting out laughing. I just _stared_ at her, as did the other three in our little group. "Well, like mother like daughter, I suppose." She said, stepping back. "You and your friends can come in – we've got a _lot_ to talk about." Behind her, a loud whistle blew. "Aaaand it looks like my tea is ready. Make yourselves comfortable in the living room, I'll be right back."

As she disappeared into the darkness of her home, I glanced back at my sister and our friends, all of them looking just as dumbfounded as I felt.

"I thought you said she was a quote-unquote 'raging bitch'." Blake said.

"She's… _supposed_ to be." I said. "I mean, that wasn't the warmest welcome in the world, but… what the _hell_?"

"Well, if that doesn't confuse you enough, she was actually, genuinely _glad_ to see you." Weiss said. "After the shock wore off, of course."

"That doesn't make it any less _weird_." Ruby said, sighing. "But… we've come all this way. We can't just go back."

"Yeah…" Blake said. "Remember though, if you guys need us, we'll be right with you."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "You're right. Well, here goes nothing, I suppose…" I said, entering the dimly-lit foyer. Inside was… not nearlyas messy as _her_ appearance suggested it would be. Sure, there was a pile of empty pizza boxes on a nearby table, and the winter coats were kinda just… thrown into a pile instead of hung up, but… there wasn't much other than that to put me off.

An archway to the right led into the brown-walled living room. With a shrug, I lead the others forward, all of us deciding to avoid the one chair that was _obviously_ stained, a dirty throw-rug at its foot. Instead, we all squeezed onto the normally three-person couch – luckily, Weiss and Ruby were smaller than the designers intended, so it wasn't _too_ tight.

The fan above us squeaked with every other revolution, its harsh lighting swaying back and forth on the floor like some B-movie interrogation lamp. To my astonishment, beside the chair sat a bunch of tools leaned up against the still-unopened box of _another_ ceiling fan… that also had _several_ mostly-empty glasses sat atop it – one even had an olive still inside.

" _So_." Raven's voice said from the entryway. All our gazes shot to her as she strode in, a cup of tea in her now-washed hands… and wearing an actual shirt. "You finally decided to show up."

" _Finally_?" I said. "Funny, _I_ don't remember being the one who ran half-way across the country after _hiding_ that her daughter had a sister."

She sat down in the chair, crossed her legs, and sipped at her drink. "Maybe not, but you can forgive me for being a little peeved that said daughter wouldn't write back."

I blinked. "…The he-" I glanced at Ruby. "… _heck_ are you talking about?"

She glanced between us for a moment, humming. "Adorable." She said before shaking her head. "I _mean_ , Yang, that I've been sending you an occasional letter since you were eight – the age which I could reasonably expect you to be able to write back – and have not received a single response from you."

I crossed my arms. "The least you could do is _not_ lie to my face, you know. I haven't gotten a _single thing_ from you."

She studied my expression for a moment, sipping her tea. "Correct."

"Then why did you even bring it up?!" I shouted.

"To see your reaction." She said. "Given that you haven't tried to physically assault me yet, I'd say your family did a decent enough job raising you."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Weiss asked, arms crossed.

"That my plan was successful." She said. "Look around; do you _really_ think this is an environment fit to raise a child in? All I had to do was make Tai and Summer mad enough at me to keep you away – and reasonably so." She sipped her tea again. "Plus, being in a secret war with an organization that most people don't even know exists doesn't exactly help my case."

I just _sat_ there, my head swimming as I was given an actual _answer_ for once. "This is…" I growled. "…the most _ridiculous_ thing I've ever heard!"

"I would be surprised if it wasn't." She said. "Though I know you're only _saying_ that." She glanced at Weiss. "Go on, little miss psyker, tell her." She leaned forward, a smirk on her face. "Am I lying?"

She blinked. _I_ blinked. "How did you-"

Raven snapped her fingers, purple flames jetting out of her eyes as Weiss physically _recoiled_. "Takes one to know one."

"You… you _hid_ your signature…" She let out. "H- How did you do that? I've never met _anyone_ who could appear normal!"

Raven snapped her fingers again, the flames instantly extinguishing themselves. "Then you have a _lot_ to learn, still." She said. "You _all_ do, actually. Do you have any idea how pissed off _they_ are now that you've escaped?"

"Who are _they_?!" I shouted, just wanting _anything_ to make sense.

" _They_ go by many names, though the one most relevant to you is simply one of association – _Pyrrha's group_." We all stayed silent, simply _dumbfounded_ by her knowledge. "I assume you've come looking for shelter? At least, for a while – maybe a couple years?"

Weiss cleared her throat. "…Y- Yes…" She muttered. "We are."

"As you should. You know nothing of your enemy; not their capabilities, their reach, their allies, _nothing_."

"So _tell_ us!" Ruby shouted.

She sipped from her tea. "Some cops showed up three days ago asking if you'd come here – gave a bullshit story about some classmate being concerned for your health and told me to let them know if you stopped by." She shrugged. "It's a good thing you took your sweet time – they showed up again only an hour ago." She smirked. "Now just _who_ would be interested in _that_ information, I wonder?"

I sat shock still; how the hell did they know we were-

"D- Did they mention… anyone else?"

"They did indeed, Ruby." She said. "And before you ask, _yes_ , I know who you are as well – fairly hard to spy on my daughter without figuring out who you were too."

"Wait, what? You were _spying_ on them?!" Blake shouted.

She sipped her drink. "Contrary to what I'm sure she believes, I _do_ care about her – in my own way." She said. "Back on topic, they said she might be traveling with Ruby, one disgraced and white-haired heiress-turned-thief, aaaand an unknown black-haired girl in her late teens." She nodded to Blake. "I'm assuming that's you."

"Charmed." Blake deadpanned.

Finally, she set her drink down – another dirty dish on top of the ceiling fan box. "I find it funny that there are _no_ records of you even existing." She said, lazily draping a hand over the side of the recliner. "And that you came out of a _UFO_ nearly naked _without having gone in_."

We all tensed up, eyes going wide. "How did you-" Ruby started.

Suddenly, Raven's hand shot up, a cocked gun in her hand aimed squarely at Blake's forehead. "I think _I'm_ the one asking the questions here." She said. "So first one: who are you, and _what_ are you doing with my daughters?"

Before any of us could react, a loud and unnatural screech pierced our ears, Blake even falling to the floor, hands pressed against her beanie. A moment later, sirens blared from all around us.

Raven's eyes widened, her gun shaking in her grip for a moment before she steeled herself. "Hold that thought. _You_ all need to head downstairs. _Now_."

"Why? _What_ is going on?!" I shouted.

"The city's under attack."

Blake shakily rose to her feet. "She's right – get to cover."

"And what about _you_?" Weiss asked.

"I'm a huntress." She said. "I'll get my weapon, then I'll help out wherever I can."

"I don't think you understand what's out there, _girl_." Raven said. "And _I'm_ not letting you go without _answers_."

"And you'll _get_ them after the city is _safe_." She said, striding towards the door.

"I _said_ …" Raven started, bounding forwards and grabbing Blake's shoulder. "You're not going _anywhe_ -" She yelped, being _flung_ to the ground almost effortlessly, the pistol flying up and hitting the ceiling.

Blake caught it without even looking, dropping the magazine into her hand and examining it. "Like I said – I'm a _huntress_." She said, re-inserting the magazine into the gun. With a swift kick, Raven was out like a light. "Protecting people is what. I. _Do_."

"Me too." Ruby said, stepping forward with a determined look in her eyes. "You're not the only one with aura anymore."

She shook her head. "You three barely know how to use it. It'd be better if you took her to safe-" She stilled, slowly pointing her weapon at the ceiling. With her left hand, she ripped off her beanie. The second it fell to the ground, I myself started hearing the faint sounds of something… _plate-y_ running around on the roof.

Another screech filled the air, this one _much_ closer. Blake glanced backwards. "Stay quiet." She whispered. "We can't risk-"

Suddenly, _something_ started _ripping through the ceiling_. Before any of us could react, a big, four-legged… _thing_ with huge jaws and razor-sharp claws. Even a single _glance_ at its _evil_ neon yellow eyes made me want to just _run_.

But Blake stood firm, eyes narrowed as she stepped between us and the _monster_ , raising her gun…

…even though another two sets of eyes stared at us through the hole in the ceiling…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, looks like things have hit the fan yet again for, well, everyone. Bradford's getting less supplies from the dwindling council, Adam's getting tortured by aliens, and those same ones are invading Albuquerque.
> 
> This is fine.
> 
> As a side note, I was heavily debating splitting this chapter into two, as it's pretty much exactly 8k long, but one of the betas said it was fine, so I left it. If you disagree, do let me know.
> 
> No reviews that need responding to on this chapter, so… I guess I'll see y'all next time on "Chryssalid Party"!


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